When the sun sets in Ardea
by Evaldas
Summary: Vincent Valentine, a young Turk, is sent as a sentry for the Jenova Project. However, he realizes there is more at stake then Hojo's growing involvement when he meets Professor Gast's assistant, Lucrecia. [First draft finished for now]
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Here is an inspiration I had for Hojo when he comes in Chapter 2. See Final Fantasy VII: All About the Random Battles  
short flash movie created by Joseph Blanchette(Legandry Frog). I **STRONGLY **encourage it!

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Chapter 1

The large room was dark except for the small bit of streetlight that leaked in from the streets below casting abstract shadows along the length of the abandoned room. Glancing over his shoulder once more, he rolled the small cart that carried a garbage can and several bottles of cleaning chemicals.

The room was under restoration, leaving the room in shambles. The project was then halted for the summer for unknown reasons. Sheets of plastic hung over the towering windows that faced the east and south while piles of rubble and debris laid in scattered piles along the floor. Plans laid on makeshift tables while another blue prints were nailed or strapped to the remaining plaster and drywall.

Removing the janitor's cap he wore on his head, he wiped at his forehead briefly with the back of his hand. Replacing the cap, Vincent turned his attention to the can and the couple bags of trash that sat inside. Moving the bags, he produced a large, black case and a small bag. Leaving the cart, he made his way to a brick wall that faced the north part of the city sector. He removed a pair of thin latex gloves from his pocket and quickly pulled them over his hands.

Setting his gear down at the wall, he crouched down and ran his hand over the coarse grained, bricks and then stopped. He wrapping his fingertips around the edges he slowly removed the brick and set it on the ground. The trained assassin had spent the better of part two months preparing the very place so only brick separated him from his target so the origins of the shot would be hard to place.

Vincent peered out of the hole and only saw immediate darkness and the lit windows from the surrounding skyscrapers as well as the colored clouds that hung in the late night sky. Marcus had stressed that this job had to be done with the greatest precision, as there would be no chance of a second attempt. Vincent smiled recalling his reply to Marcus's concern. He knew this hit was no different from any other he had performed other then it was the longest distance he had ever aimed from. Marcus knew of one person, who enjoyed a good challenge Vincent was it.

Turning his attention away from the brick hole, he opened the large case to reveal the disassembled sniping rifle, each piece tucked neatly in its own customized place in the foam. Removing first the main body of the gun, he then attached and locked the bi-pod into place followed by the barrel. Finally he attached the high-powered scope to the top.

Vincent gave a quick once over the gun before taking his place on the ground near the trigger. He had the rifle for some time, ever since he first began his work with the Turks. It was as familiar to him as one may feel with a loved car or favored chair.

Lying on the ground, he focused his scope on the target; the latitude and longitude numbers spun as the satellite tracker helped grant an immediate focus on the target almost a half-mile away. The blurred image of a man dressed in a blue dress shirt and black tie finally came into view. So much that he could make out the color and pattern of his loosened tie. Smirking, his target locked into place and all he had to do was pull the trigger. Adrenaline surged through his body as he inched his finger further on. Vincent slowly inhaled as he curled his index finger against the cool, smooth surface and pulled. The only sound heard was the click and whirl of the bullet that shot from the throat of the barrel.

The man fell against his desk and did not rise. The faint red blur spread across the paper-strewn desk and the nearby wall. Allowing a cocky grin, he exhaled. Wasting no time, Vincent disassembled his gun and placed it back into the black case. He then replaced the brick into the hole. Rising to his feet, he dusted off the jumper suit and casually walked over to the janitor's cart and placed the case back underneath the paper trash and readjusted his cap.

Closing the door, Vincent walked down the hallway toward the elevator. An old security guard walked past him, carrying a large metal flashlight. The guard paused for a moment, squinting at the faded nametag.

"Good evening,… Bob."

"Sir." Bowing his head briefly so he could hide his brown eyes from the man. He had forgotten for a brief moment the nametag of the suit had such a name on it. The guard relaxed and continued walking, swinging his flashlight.

"Don't work too hard, Bob. It's a three day weekend."

Vincent stopped infront of the elevator and pressed the arrow that pointed down.

"Of course, Sir." Vincent offered a brief wave of his hand as he rolled his service cart into the elevator. Then the doors shut.

The stainless steel door of the building opened to the 40th floor. Whistling, Vincent stepped out on to the carpeted floors, carrying his gun case in one hand while the other carried his janitor's hat. Several lab workers walked past, two of which were women.

"Good night, Bob." They chimed as they approached the elevator he had just left.

"Ladies." Vincent turned the corner and went down toward the end of the corridor where Marcus's office was located. Producing a keycard, he swiped it through the reader above the doorknob and walked in, closing the door behind him. There he left the case and janitor's suit before heading out of the night. Glancing at his watch, Vincent smiled realizing he would arrive just in time.

"Hey, we've been waiting for you! Save ya a seat, my good man."

Vincent hesitated to approach and took his seat quietly. Four other Turks sat the table; alcohol was already flowing freely among them. A shot glass was slid over to him, already filled with a dark drink. He glanced down at the small glass and sighed. There were several reasons he avoided drinking. The sense of losing control brought him little pleasure were as it appeared other did. Laughter broke out as a joke reached its punch line.

_'Sometimes I wonder why I still come to this.'_ Vincent pondered. He was not much for one for socializing. He preferred more the solitude and quiet of his place. It seemed it was always lively down at the small bar and lounge known as the Blue Lizard, a block down from the main Shin-ra building.

"You are supposed to drink that! It's on me." The man stated next to him. The man was known as the Tank; no one got past him, and tended to bull right over anyone that got in his way. Vincent nodded, accepting the man's gift, but still hesitated to take the drink to his lips, knowing what was going to happen. Taking a deep breath, Vincent lifted the glass and threw back the drink. Tank cheered and slapped Vincent on the shoulder.

"That's the spirit!"

The sniper shot forward, nearly shooting the drink through his nose. Wincing, he swallowed feeling the burn of the alcohol in his throat as well as in nose. He glanced over and saw that there were already three empty glasses. Tank was a respectable man, when taken to the drink, turned into nothing more then a careless man.

Another man came and sat down in the last empty seat at the round table. Removing something from inside his jacket, he produced a pack of cards. Tonight was poker night, and Vincent knew with most of the players were already half-drunk; the take home for him would be good. Everyone settled down with their cigarettes and drinks as the dealer dealt out cards to each person at the table.

The small pendulum clock ticked in the quiet of the small studio apartment. The sound a turning lock echoed loudly followed by a turning doorknob. Vincent stumbled through the door and shut it behind him. Reaching over to a small table, he turned on a small lamp lending him light to navigate around the few pieces of furniture within the place.

Locking the door behind him, Vincent dropped down into the overstuffed couch. Reclining his head, he closed his eyes and listened to the droning sound of the ticking clock. After meeting with Marcus and giving him a report, and then dropping by the Blue Lizard for a rousing round of poker, it was nearly one in the morning. At least this past game, he walked out with most of the winnings.

Sirens wailed in the distance. Vincent smiled knowing this time; it was not of his work. He reached up with his right and combed his fingers through his rakish jaw length hair only to have it drop back down over the left side of his face. After a moment, Vincent hauled himself up and walked past a small eating bar that was attached to a small cooking island. The small dried up remains of a plant sat in the middle, neglected and dead. Vincent looked it over and sighed. _'So much for keeping plants.' _He thought.

Despite his inability to keep living things, he still strove to bring the plant back to life. He pulled the dead leaves off and found new shoots were working their way from what seemed dead. Taking a small drinking glass, he filled it with water from the sink tap and then dumped a small amount onto the soil. Setting the glass down next to the sink, Vincent removed his jacket and tie and folded them neatly over the back of a chair. He then removed the gun holster and hung it on the back of the chair. Taking the gun from its home in the left holster, Vincent went into his bed and slipped it underneath the pillow in the bedroom. Vincent left his bedroom and then lumbered over to the bathroom door while unbuttoning his shirt. The light turned on and he shut the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sitting down infront of her computer, Lucrecia brought up several files and glanced over the statistical data that was reported not too long after Professor Gast investigated the near artic find of the ancient body in the glacial ice and snow.

Leaning back in her chair, she stretched and inhaled. She rubbed at her face and then ran her fingers through her brown bangs. She had spent most of her career studying Mako poisoning and it's affects on the biological and psychological system of the human body. However with the discovery Gast had made in the North seemed to have turned her professional world upside-down. Being the prominent Biologist, Gast began immediately after the discovery to examine whether the DNA of the body could be study. Lucrecia shared his concern that the DNA maybe too old to examine let alone duplicate. The sound of her phoning ringing brought her out of her reverie. Rolling over to the other side of the desk, she picked up the receiver.

"Dr. Honestas."

"Ah good, I have something you might be interested in." Professor Gast's voice rumbled from the other end. Lucrecia smiled.

"You best not be teasing me. I know how much I hate that."

Gast chuckled. "Patience, dear, Patience. I have something better then a report, Lucrecia..."

She frowned, glancing briefly up at her office door. "I'm listening."

"I will need your help recreating a Cetra."

Lucrecia could hear Professor's Gast's voice edged with excitement.

"When will the research begin?" She inquired. Gast paused.

"Shin-ra would like us to begin in a week. I need to gather my previous data and prepare it for lab. I was hoping to gain your assistance in that."

"I am your assistant, Professor."

Gast sighed. "I know, but I wanted to let you know, if we are successful in our studies, I will be willing to put in my reference for your own research. Shin-ra would be interested in your studies on Mako Radiation."

Lucrecia stopped coiling her finger around the phone cord. _'Is Gast serious? Could this by my chance?' _"Professor, I would be honored…"

He chuckled. "Oh don't sound so shocked, you have worked with me for a several years now, and if all goes well, you might have a chance. I just want to warn you, it might take several years of work…. and then getting past the Department head…"

Lucrecia frowned, that meant it had to be approved by Dr. Hojo. "Of course."

"Oh, speaking of which, I also wanted to call about a visitor that insisted on coming by..."

Someone pounded on her office door. She glanced up and then away. "I think your timing is uncanny, Gast."

"He will be coming to observe our work."

"Sure." Lucrecia hung up sounding doubtful. She redirected her attention to the door.

"Enter." She stood up and saw a man, probably no older then she, his black hair was cut short and wore round glasses which only seemed to accentuated his heavy bowline. A large white lab coat trailed near his knees.

"Ms. Honestas." He approached her desk in a lumbering shuffle, his shoulder were slightly hunched assumingly from the years of looming over books and reports.

"Dr. Hojo, it has been a while, please come in." She struggled to remain hospitable toward the department head.

"I wanted to see what you have scribbled down about Jenova."

Lucrecia forced a smile. "I am still compiling that information, Sir."

He paused infront of the small bookshelf filled with books and research reports.

"It seems that the quality of assistants have become, shall we say, slacking in recent years. I am sure part of it has to be that some people just who shouldn't be the field of science." He pulled a book from the shelf and thumbed through it. "Would you not agree Ms. Honestas? I am sure you are fully aware women your age are married and at home? Oh but I am sure you hear enough of that…"

Lucrecia straightened up the scattered research on her desk. A piece of paper fluttered from the desk to the floor during the shuffle. She bent over to pick it up. "But wasn't it you who approved me to work under Professor Gast?"

He paused observing the backside of her bent form from behind the book. "Mmmyes," Hojo then shut the book. "But it was only because I ended up owing him a favor. I have several promising young men to his disposal, and he insisted he wanted you." He glanced up at her. "Not that I can't blame him for wanting something of a _different _view during those long, _late_ hours in the office."

She clenched her jaw, forcing a smile. "The Professor recognized my potential…"

Hojo waved her comment away. "Everyone has potential. But their skills are not proven until the steel has been tested by both flame and hammer. None the less, I came to make sure what you will be bringing will be satisfactory for the Project."

Lucrecia's eyes went wide momentarily _'Hojo is the one coming to observe the project? Oh this could be trouble.'_

She pursed her lips in frustration. It was not the first time men and some women had thrown around their weight in power in order to gain what they wished, even if it were for a better parking placing in the structure.

"Of course, Dr. Hojo."

The phone rang. Taking the opportunity to stop the conversation, she answered. Saying a private prayer of praise, she set the receiver down at the end of the message. She gathered up her clipboard and a small notebook.

"I had a pleasant time chatting, Dr.Hojo, but my lab analysis is complete, so if you will excuse me." She walked passed him. Folding his arms, he followed her into the hallway.

"Well, I am heading off to meet with my daughter for a couple of days." Marcus finished up the last of his paperwork and dumped it triumphantly into the out basket. Marcus Brenner was a man that seemed to demand respect despite his low-key appearance. He wore his brown peppered hair trimmed short either slicked back or falling freely around his temples. What seemed to call the most attention were his bright, piecing blue eyes. Whatever harshness existed in his youth was now easily mellowed with the growing lines and wrinkles of a man in his early forties.

Marcus held a picture he kept in the inside pocket of his jacket. He looked over at the summer image of his once youthful child. Her red hair was braided into pigtails and freckles speckled her flushed cheeks. Marcus smiled realizing how dated the picture was. His daughter was no long a spirited six years old, but was edging into womanhood. But in a couple of days, his red-headed child would be turning sixteen. Marcus had a hard time grasping how fast time had flown by.

"Sir?"

Marcus looked up at Vincent who stood infront of the desk. It seemed like only yesterday when he brought to meet the newest recruit that had been weeded from the military applicants. Vincent, even though talented, was not the only Turk he supervised.

"Sorry, I tend to get a little nostalgic." Marcus joked.

"I know sir."

"She is the reason I am still here, Vincent. When I am dust, I want her to be okay." His eyes glanced down at the wrinkled, crumpling photo. Heaving a sigh, he placed the picture back in his jacket pocket. It was hard back when she was little. He rarely got to see her and his wife. When Katherine was about seven, his wife divorced him simply stating she could not handle him being away all the time and not being allowed to know what was going on. Marcus still felt the hurt of her words, but the line of work he was in was not an easy one, especially if one had a family on the outside.

Vincent sat quietly watching his supervisor. When he first applied for the military he expected a low ranking position, but after repeated diagnostic tests and interviews, it became apparent his skills were desired elsewhere. That is when he was introduced to Mr. Brenner. Vincent's brown eyes focused on Marcus's face and could not help to see a brief melancholy in his mentor's aging eyes. As quickly as he saw it, it was gone replaced by the usual focused almost piercing gaze.

Marcus stood up and grabbed his dark jacket. "I was thinking of catching a quick drink before I leave in the morning. I think the boys have another game going this evening."

Vincent nodded. Marcus grabbed his keys and turned off his desk light. "Remember, I taught you what you know, kid."

"Sir?"

Marcus chuckled. "Just don't swindle me like the rest of them. I need gas money." Not that Marcus was broke.

Vincent grinned and stepped out into the hallway, waiting for Marcus. Once the door was locked and secured, the two snipers walked down the hallway toward the elevator. "Now give you a word of advice about women. Don't get involved with any that wear an apron, short skirts or blonde wigs." They reached the elevator and pushed the down arrow. Marcus slung his jacket over his shoulder. "Especially if the blonde wig is also wearing the fishnets...I can guarantee that she is a he..."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Vincent paused while holding a cup in his hand. A woman stood at the end of the hallway looking out one of the large windows that gazed on the surrounding urban structures. He glanced at his watch and found it was long after most everyone had either gone home our out and catch some dinner before returning to continue their work.

As he came closer, he found it was a one of the lab workers, dressed in a white lab coat. Long, brown hair was tied back with a dark red clasp. Short bangs hung just about her curved, smooth eyebrows and framed her face as they hung in a loose curl along the front of her ears on each side.

Vincent came to a stop in front of the window next to the woman. He took a sip from the cup while looking out on the night-lights of the city. Vincent took the opportunity to look at her reflection, but not looking at her directly.

"I thought the labs were closed at this time of night." Vincent mentioned casually as he took another drink.

" I didn't realize that people were still around." She reached into one of her lab coat pockets and stole a glance at a watch. "It's either janitors or nightshift workers that are about at this time of night."

"I suppose that makes me a janitor, then." Vincent kept his eyes on the dark sky.

She studied his face. "Don't I know you from somewhere?" Her blue eyes then wide briefly, "Oh, you're Bob. You are certainly one of the better-dressed ones I have seen around. You must be good at taking out the trash." She commented.

Vincent paused before responding. "You learn to keep it off your shirt."

She sighed. "It is nearly impossible to get anything out of a white shirt." She added casually.

He glanced over at her briefly before returning his attention to the cityscape. For a brief moment he smirked at her comment.

The woman shifted on her feet and shoved her hands into the pockets. "My DNA analysis should be ready shortly." She mumbled. Despite her initial eagerness to leave, she remained standing before the window.

Vincent finished his drink without giving any response. The lab worker glanced over and found she was not the only one appearing to be a little disheveled. He lacked the custom jacket, his sleeves were rolled up and his tie was loosened around his neck.

"You probably should check your DNA samples." He offered turning away while he tossed his empty cup into a garbage can.

She only nodded. Turning, she made her way back toward the small grouping of labs. "Perhaps I will see you around… stranger."

"Perhaps."

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Walking off the elevator, Vincent wandered down the large hallway toward his supervisor's office. After being woken from a sound sleep, he was only told he would be receiving a new assignment. Opening the door, the Turk stepped into the office.

"Ah, Mr. Valentine, if I hadn't known better, I would think you just rolled out of bed." Marcus commented upon seeing his entrance into the office. Vincent's brows furled in confusion.

"Sir?"

Marcus grinned and chuckled. He never quite understood why Vincent wore the jaw length, tattered unconventional hair. One would think having hair hanging that much in his eyes would be bothersome, but it seemed it did not bother the Turk. Marcus could only guess such a hairstyle was for attaining some certain image.

"Please have a seat." He gestured for Vincent to sit down in one of the seats that sat infront of the large, walnut desk. Even thought his temples were speckled with gray against his short brown hair, Marcus still commanded attention by his presence and gaze.

Vincent sat down and removed his dark shades and folding them into the breast pocket of his blue suit jacket. "How was your visit, sir?"

Marcus grimaced. "It would have been great had not my ex and her husband hadn't been there. She made damn sure to give me hell for showing my mug."

"But were you not invited by your daughter?" Vincent inquired.

Marcus took another drink. "Apparently without telling her mother."

Vincent raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly, but it was all worth it."

Vincent remained silent.

Marcus picked up his mug of coffee. His jacket was draped over the back of his chair, exposing his crisp white shirt, dark suspenders and tie.

"Is there something you wish to share, sir?"

Marcus smirked behind his mug

" That is what I always liked about you, Vincent. You can observe the smallest of details and discern what move to take next." Marcus gestured with his mug before taking a brief drink.

"I'm flattered." Vincent said in a flat voice. He could not help but wonder if that was an attempt at buttering him for something.

Marcus set his mug down. "Shin-ra has sent me notice that they want you to serve on a new project." Marcus stood up and came around to the front of the desk. "It will be quite lengthy, between nine to twelve months."

The gunman placed his hands on his knees. _'Damn, I was hoping to request some vacation time to the Coast.'_ Vincent thought sarcastically.

Marcus looked at Vincent. "Your orders are to accompany Dr. Hojo and Professor Gast's assistant, Dr. Lucrecia Honestas. They will be heading the Jenova Project."

Vincent raised an eyebrow questioning the assignment. "Jenova Project? What do a pair of scientists need with someone of my caliber?"

Marcus held up a finger. "Shin-ra wants to make sure the interests of the company are not compromised in any way. Dr. Hojo will be more your focus. He tends to have a habit of put his hands where they don't belong. Professor Gast is heading the project and should remain as such."

"Guard-duty, sir?"

Marcus looked at him as he rose from his desk chair. "The reason I suggested your name is that I can trust you to finish the job when it goes bad. You will make regular reports to me about the events taking place in Nibelheim." He then crossed his arm and walked past Vincent to the office doors. "Come, they are waiting for our arrival."

Marcus led them into a small boardroom with a oval conference table in the middle and several overstuffed chairs. Vincent found a man and woman seated at the table, with two empty chairs separating them. Upon their arrival, the man stood up and scowled at Marcus. His short, black hair hung stiffly above his eyes while a pair of thin glasses sat low on his narrow nose. Hojo pushed his glasses up in irritation.

"It's about time, can we move on? You are wasting my time."

Marcus frowned. "That would be Dr. Hojo."

The brown haired woman turned around and looked at Marcus first and then let her blue eyes glide over and fell on Vincent. He quickly recognized her from the other night in the hallway. Marcus looked at both of them.

"Have you two already met by chance? Dr. Honestas, this is Mr. Valentine. He will be coming along for observation."

Lucrecia blinked and nodded her head. "It would be a pleasure, Mr. Valentine. You presence is greatly welcomed."

Vincent only nodded remaining quiet. Hojo heaved an aggravated sigh and marched toward the doors. "Are we done here? There is equipment that needs to be loaded and moved. Heaven forbid that I have some dumb clown drop anything along the way."

The scientist stormed out with little regard to what Marcus attempted to say. Lucrecia came to her feet.

"You will have to forgive him, Mr. Brenner. He tends to get a little short tempered. It is good to meet both of you." She looked over the two Turks. "If you excuse me, I need to finish packing before we depart." She walked passed Marcus and paused briefly behind Vincent.

"See you around, stranger." She mentioned casually as she left the room. He watched her briefly from the corner his sight without turning his head.

Marcus smirked. "Stranger, huh?"

Vincent frowned and looked at Marcus. The Turk supervisor straightened his face in response. Vincent left the room with Marcus in tow. _'Gees, if that is Dr. Hojo…'_ He thought briefly.

"Dr. Hojo mentioned moving. Is this project not taking place in Shin-ra labs?" Vincent finally asked as they walked down the hallway. Marcus slipped his hands into his pockets.

"The Jenova project will be located in Nibelheim. You and the scientists will be stationed there until the research is completed."

Vincent nodded in silence.

Marcus paused crossing his arms casually his attention seemed slightly diverted. "I cannot think of any man who would not mind being locked in a large house with her." His blue eyes lingering down the hallway where Lucrecia stood talking with a lab attendant, directing them where to carrying boxes.

Vincent raised a brow. "Sir?"

Marcus cleared his throat. "I know a pretty woman when I see one." He reached into his pocket and pulled out pager and frowned. "Look, I have a meeting I need to attend. I would advise you finish any personal business here in Midgar. The 'copter will be leaving the morning."

Marcus turned away down into a corridor where several other Turks. Pushing back his shirt cuff, Vincent glanced at his watch and made his way toward the elevator.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Sitting in the backseat of the helicopter, he watched the two scientists that he accompanied. Despite them being introduced as partners on the project, it seemed only by name only. Dr. Honestas sat a distance away from Dr. Hojo while she worked silent taking notes from a book while he stared out of the window out on the ocean water that sketched beneath them. The water then switched to earth both of rolling hills, fields and rivers.

In the distance large, dark mountains rose up along the horizon with either highest peaks being capped with snow.

"We will be landing in 15 minutes." The pilot announced over the intercom. Lucrecia glanced up briefly only to return to her work. Hojo crossed his arms and stared forward.

_'Oh, this could be fun.'_ Vincent thought to himself. _'I've been sent to baby-sit two scientists that seem not to get along, especially the anal one. Though Gast's assistant doesn't seem too bad.' _

A while later, the helicopter slowly lowered itself down on the landing pad just next to the mansion. The co-pilot hopped out and opened the door for the two scientists and the Turk who rode in back. Another man quickly greeted the group. His hair was cut short and wore round-framed glasses and sported a small, dark mustache. Lucrecia smiled and greeted him.

"Professor Gast." He met her outreached hand and shook it. Their voices were almost lost in the whirlwind of the propellers and the roar of the helicopter engine. Her hair whipped around wildly as it took to the air once again.

Gast turned and nodded to the second scientist.

"Hojo, good to see you as well."

"Of course." Shoving his hands into his lab coat pockets.

Gast's eyes then settled on Vincent's tall dark frame. "And who might he be?"

Lucrecia gestured to the Turk. "This is Mr. Valentine, he has been sent to take some observations of the project."

Gast looked over the blue suited man in question and the large black case that sat next to his black shoes. The professor snorted, more out of amusement then annoyance. "Observation indeed. Nonetheless, welcome to the project Mr. Valentine." Gast held out his hand to Vincent, but the gunman hesitated at first and then clasped hands with the scientist. Silence fell briefly among the small group. Gast removed his glasses and quickly wiped them off with the tail of his lab coat.

"There is far too much to be done for us to loiter here." Gast turned and led them toward the main entrance of the mansion. Vincent readjusted the pack strap on his left shoulder and picked up his large back case before he followed quietly behind the researchers. A large wrought iron gate came into view with a part of large gates. Vincent paused at looked briefly over the iron designs that hung over the gates. He returned his attention back to the small group of scientists as they entered the mansion.

It was late afternoon and the shadows of the looming mountains had already begun to cast their shadow over the small village; lights had already begun to flicker to life within some of the town houses and homes.

Lucrecia sighed and set her bags down on her bed. Gast and Hojo had already gone down into the basement lab to pour over the notes that Gast had already shared with her. She was given a small room at the end of the hall next to the the stone tunnel that spiraled to the basement while Professor Gast took a room on the left wing and Hojo taking another small room where a bed had been placed. Lucrecia had her misgiving about have Dr. Hojo there to "observe" as he stated.

Unzipping one bag, she pulled out several changes of clothing followed by a small metal box. She slipped her fingers gently across the surface in a loving manner. Inside were test tubes, sterile swabs, gloves, test kits and tape. The kit contained everything she could need when she was out in the field researching and taking samples.

The large mobile that sat on the bed began to ring. Reaching over she answered.

"Lu! I hope I am not bothering you, dear."

Lucrecia rolled her eyes. "Not at the moment, mom. Is there a reason you called?" She cradled the phone between her ear and her shoulder while she continued to unpack.

"Oh, not really, I just wanted to see how you were. I haven't heard from you in a while."

Lucrecia opened one of the dresser drawers and placed her shirt and pants within and closed it. "Everything is going well, mom. I am going to be really busy here for a while."

She could hear her mother sigh on the other end. "Not that I am surprised, dear. But honestly, isn't this routine getting you tired?"

Lucrecia switched shoulder and ear. She knew what her mother was getting at and did not care to hear yet another lecture.

"This is what I want to do and I am very happy with it."

"I know, I know, dear. But you are not immortal and there might be time where you may regret your choices."

"But that is risk I am willing to take."

"Oh my, someone's here, I best let you go, Lu," A dog back in the background. " Remember what I told you. Be safe." Her mother hung up.

Lucrecia stared at the phone briefly before shaking her head. Her mother meant well at her age, but Lucrecia felt herself rebelling against the idea of "settling down". It was not that feared boredom, but it was the fear that she would be settling for less and all the hell she had gone through would be for naught. She knew her mother was only concerned about her overall happiness, and that most of her concern probably was stemming in the fact that Lucrecia would be turning thirty in the winter.

"The farm boy can keep on milking his cows." Lucrecia mumbled as she slipped the phone into the top drawer of her dresser. Placing what bags were left into the wardrobe, Lucrecia left her room and locked the door.

"Professor Gast would like you to meet in his office."

Lucrecia turned to find Vincent standing not too far away. His suit was meticulously button and his tie straight. She smiled as she dropped the room key into her lab pocket.

"Of course, Mr. Valentine. I shouldn't keep them waiting, should I?"

He gave only a blank expression as she walked past him and down the stairs that would lead to the main level of the mansion.

--------------

Lucrecia closed Gast's study door behind her while the two men pour each other glasses of hard liquor. She glanced around and found the Turk gunman standing opposite of the door, watching in silence.

"I am going down to the pub for a quick dinner, it would be nice to have some company, even if it's only a measure more then a corpse." She mentioned casually. He stood looking at her, remaining quiet except for the loud rumble of his stomach. His eyes glanced away and his stance eased.

"If you wish, Doctor."

Lucrecia eyed him briefly before turning her back on him. She took off her lab coat and folded it over her arm. They passed her room where she tossed her lab coat casually over a chair before making their way to the front doors.

Lucrecia opened the pub door and found the establishment filled with people settling down for their evening meal and conversation. Lucrecia hesitated unsure where to sit. Vincent moved toward the backside of the room where a table in the corner sat empty. He walked over to the table and before he took his seat, he pulled out a chair for her and waited.

She blinked at the gesture of manners. Nodding, she took the seat and sat down opposite from him. She smiled. It had been a while since anyone had ever done that for her. Vincent studied her briefly, seeming almost confused.

"What amuses you?" He finally asked.

Lucrecia relaxed in the wooden chair. "Oh nothing, really. But I will have to say this, your attire would not even bat an eye in the city, but it seems a little conspicuous among the locals."

Vincent sighed. "How unfortunate." He reached up and straightened his tie with a certain amount of smugness. A waitress approached their table.

"I'll have some hot tea, easy on the cream and sugar." Lucrecia asked without pausing.

The two women then looked at the Turk.

"Water is fine." He stated.

The waitress then laid out several menus and left. She picked up hers and scanned briefly over the different meals.

"Just water huh? I would have guessed you to be a 'whiskey on the rocks' sort of man, Mr. Valentine."

Vincent slowly opened his menu and glanced it over with little excitement _'Actually I like a martini…'_

"I thought I would be considerate and not mix alcohol with guns." He explained factually.

"I suppose you have a point." She glanced up soon enough to catch the fleeting grin that signaled his attempt at humor. Lucrecia swore she almost saw a shadow of mischief. _'I definitely need to make sure I am careful around him. He could be lethal.'_

Their drinks were laid out on the table and meal orders were taken. Picking up her cup, Lucrecia went to drink but paused to watch him to turn his glass several times before he picked it up and drank from it. She quickly returned her attention to her tea. The aroma was rich with the smell of warm cream and the darkness of the black tea. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the moment.

"Will Professor Gast and Dr.Hojo be joining you?"

She opened her eyes and look up. "Possibly, but I doubt it, especially Dr. Hojo. He tends to like to work, sleep and eat alone. Not that it bothers me much." She sipped at her tea. _'That miserable man can stay in his rat lab'_. Lucrecia watched as most of Vincent's attention hung on the door.

"I hope that is out of habit. I know my company can be a little lacking..."

His dark eyes glanced back down on her. _'Well, if you prefer, Doctor, I could stare at your cleavage.' _"Your company is fine."

Two separate dinner plates where placed down between them turning attention away from their convention to their meal. Despite her light-hearted demeanor, she was a little nervous spending time with a man who, on the minimum, could be carrying two guns in a shoulder holster. For all she knew, he also had others, never mind the large black case he carried into the mansion. She doubted he played any instrument lacking a trigger and a scope. Never mind the thought she might be playing with fire, she was dancing with a racing train not knowing if the breaks worked.

Lucrecia looked down at her dinner and sighed. She still wondered what possessed her in asking for the Turk to join her at dinner. _'No matter, I will enjoy a civil meal.' _Picking up her tea mug, she held it up toward Vincent.

"To Success."

He held up his glass and met her casually toast before setting his glass down and began eating.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Small curls of dark smoke snaked underneath the false stonewall in the back corner bedroom on the second floor. Within seconds more smoke came from underneath. A section of the wall flung open as people charged up the stairs and out of the room. The sound of a fire extinguisher hissed from below in several pulses before the smoke stopped and dispersed.

Lucrecia coughed waving at the air. "What on earth happened?"

Professor Gast shook his head unsure what caused the small fire below.

"I would say that the bumpkins that did the wiring don't know how to even plug in a lamp let alone set up a proper outlet." Dr. Hojo followed by Vincent emerged from the basement coughed and hacking. "Though that would have not been a problem if Dr. Honestas didn't try to plug that burner..."

"I mean no offense, Dr. Hojo, but you were the one who told me to plug it in there..."

Hojo waved his hand. "Dr.Honestas simply heard me wrong. But she insisted in crawling underneath the table..."

Lucrecia fought from snapping back at Dr. Hojo. _'He just wanted to have a look at my ass again, that impious pig.'_ She knew it would do her little good to fight back. Lucrecia just hoped it was not the beginning of things to come.

Gast reached into his vest pocket pocket and produced a pocket watch. "Well, its almost noon now, lets take a break and let the lab clear out before we begin again."

Everyone agreed to return in an hour. Gast pulled Lucrecia to the side.

"I was hoping you can finish running those tests for me."

"Of course, Professor. Would you also like me to prepare some glass slides?"

Gast smiled and clapped her shoulder. "Of course." He then turned and went toward the office room on the left wing of the mansion where Hojo stood waiting. The two men entered and closed the door. _'I wonder what they are up?_' Curious, she quickly, but quietly approached the close door and leaned in to listen.

"I have the papers here for use to start using Mako."

"Why do we need to use Mako?"

There was a pause and the sound of someone pacing. "I thought your work has shown use enough for us to start exposing the cells to the radiation."

"So you wanting to make a trip to the reactor then?"

"Mmmyes, Gast. Besides, I need to gather some specimens that we can test on."

"Then, lets plan for tomorrow to do that then."

"What about your assistant, Professor? I can scarcely have confidence she could handle such a long, treacherous hike."

"Dr. Honestas has gone on many dangerous trips with me, I see no reason she should not come."

There was a pause and Lucrecia could not gather why they stopped talking.

"I feel she would be a hindrance, let us proceed without her, especially since that Turk is here..."

Lucrecia pulled away from the door and turned only to run directly in Vincent. Her hand flew up to her mouth to keep from yelping aloud.

"Mr. Valentine! What do you think you are doing?" She inquired as she glanced back at Gast's door. She tried to move away, but the Turk stood in the way. She clenched her jaw.

"I could ask the same, Dr. Honestas." They studied each other in silence. Lucrecia was annoyed that he would be so cocky to spy on her while she was eavesdropping. Suddenly she realized how foolish her anger was and gave a nervous laugh.

"I was getting..uh,.." She gestured at the door and then looked back at him. "Never mind it. You probably already know anyways." Her shoulders dropped in defeat.

Lucrecia walked away from Gast's office and back to toward her room.

_'Not that I can blame you for that, Doctor. Hojo is up to something…'_ Vincent lingered for a moment before following quietly behind the young scientist.

Taking a seat infront of her computer Lucrecia started up a program. The analysis began giving a finishing time between forty to sixty minutes. Seeing that there was little else she could do during that time, she reached into the top drawer of her desk and pulled out a small, worn pack of cards. She sat back and casually shuffled them. Though it only seemed the more she shuffled them, the more aggravated she got.

She glanced up to see Vincent standing outside, his back to her. She was unsure whether he was there out of suspicion or boredom.

"Mr. Valentine?"

"Doctor?" He responded over his shoulder.

Lucrecia continued to shuffle the cards. "Do you play?"

Vincent turned around. "Play what?"

She held up her cards. "Poker of course. Unless you can't play?" She challenged. Vincent tucked his hands in to his pant pockets. He glanced to the left and then to the right of the hallway before returning his attention back at her.

Lucrecia rubbed at her lips looking at her hand and then looked up at the Turk. _'Damn, he's good.'_ She pondered. This was the third game in which he had won the first two. Lucrecia was not about to lose to him a third time. However, her hand was not strong. She looked up and tried to see anything that might indicate what was in his hand. For a brief moment, his left eyebrow twitched. She recalled seeing that before in the first game where she almost won.

Vincent glanced at his hand. He found that Lucrecia was a strong opponent then first thought. He almost lost the first round, but a minor habit gave her away. She tended to have a habit of biting her lip when she was nervous or in deep thought. Vincent waited t, but she never bit her lip, instead she upped her ante in an almost easy eloquence. If he admired her in anything, it was she knew her way around a game of poker.

Lucrecia's small computer beeped, announcing the analysis had completed and was ready for review. Vincent met her and raised the ante. Lucrecia glanced at her cards and then at him. Being self-assured about the eyebrow, she raised the ante once more. Vincent finally folded, laying his cards out. She followed and showed her hand with a certain amount of confidence. Lucrecia won the game by default while Vincent had the strong hand.

She smiled. "I'm impressed, not too bad for a corporate thug." Lucrecia gathered up the gil and placed it away into her pocket. " We should play again sometime, Mr. Valentine." She muttered as she sat down at the desk.

_'_"You can count on it, Doctor." _'I intend to win my money back.'_ Vincent gathered the cards together and handed them to her.

Professor Gast and Dr. Hojo sat across from Lucrecia and Vincent in the pub. The two men reminisced about the past adventures and research projects over there ale. It almost seemed as though they were parading their conquests and treasures they seized. Lucrecia sat quietly while she half-listened to the men in their conversation. Their thoughts suddenly turned to Mako radiation. Gast glanced over at Lucrecia.

"Why don't you tell Dr. Hojo about some stuff you came across recently?"

Lucrecia blinked, unsure where to begin. "Well, I found this curious relationship between radiation and cancer..."

"I have found something similar myself. Even though it may seem that the radiation, in small amounts, may provide some benefits, they don't seem to last long..." He continued to ramble on about his exploits in Mako energy, leaving Lucrecia cut off in mid-sentence. She then clenched her jaw shut in annoyance.

"But what about those who didn't die?" She finally managed to ask, only after cutting off Hojo. He glared at her and leaned in closer.

"What do you mean? Those who lived might as well be dead. But I suppose I can't hold your ignorance against you..." Hojo launched into a new ramble about the inadequacy of the university system in producing component future scientists.

Lucrecia wanted to try again, but her heart was no longer in it. She glanced over at Vincent briefly before looking back her drink. Despite not having eaten all day, she lacked an appetite for the meal she ordered.

Vincent sat back and watched the conversation in silence. He found it interesting the relationship between the professor, director and the assistant. Vincent did not know Dr. Honestas enough to fairly judge her capabilities, but he could assume that she was component enough to be this far and working with such prominent people. However finding her eavesdropping on a private conversation did leave a certain impression of the divisions between her and the two other scientists.

He watched Lucrecia as she stared at her drink. He saw her lips twitch as though she was planning her next move. It seemed she was not quite done taking her part in the conversation.

The woman looked up and kept her attention on Gast and completely ignored Dr. Hojo.

"Professor, I hoping that might be able to go see Jenova up at the reactor tomorrow. I would like to take some tests and see how well the body is dealing with the radiation."

Gast blinked while Hojo looked at her and then at the Professor. Vincent caught a brief expression of smugness. Gast studied her for a moment before speaking.

"What are your thoughts, Dr. Hojo?"

The man clenched his jaw, obviously annoyed. But quickly the annoyance slipped away and was replaced a calmer presence. "Well if Dr. Honestas is so inclined, she can march up the mountain herself."

Lucrecia remained unmoved. _'Does he know that I spied on them for that information?'_ She wondered.

"I think Dr. Hojo could use another drink." Lucrecia rebutted, avoiding the subject. The conversation dropped shortly after that.

Staring at her screen, Lucrecia watched the schematics of the chemical reactions and formulas. Readjusting her reading glasses, she reached back and released her hair from the red clip. Today, as much as any other day, she felt like she was beating her head against a brick wall.

Reaching over her small desk, she pulled out a small piece of white paper. One it was the results of the tests run on her mother. Lucrecia had been aware for a while that her sole parent was dying, one cell at a time. It started out first with fainting and lost of memory and it was not until she had tests run to find out what was causing the degeneration of her mother's general condition. Her mother was dying from cancer and nothing could be done to save her.

It was that very news that drove her ambition for private study. During her time with the study of Mako radiation, Lucrecia found something bizarre. Lucrecia had begun her studies in Nibelheim, especially those who did the construction and mining work for the Mako reactor. While many ended up dying for the radiation, it seemed that having constant exposure to small amounts did not cause one to die, but to cure them.

Once particular case always haunted her. It was a man in his twenties, with a wife and a child. He complained of terrible headaches followed by the fading of his vision. It was not after the reactor did these things begin to either stop or even disappear. After reviewing his records, is when Lucrecia found what he had suffered from was a malignant brain tumor and after the exposure to the radiation had caused the tumor not only to shrink, but also to disappear altogether.

Lucrecia stared the screen, pulling up file after file with the various reports of people who shared their information for further study. Many were hesitant when she mentions anything of Shin-ra, but there were a few who felt her work was honest and offer whatever information she requested.

_'When I get that money I will perform fuller research and then will I develop something that is of use.' _Lucrecia pondered while looking over several other reports.

Gast promised her that if she participated on the Jenova project, she would be guarantee that money. However, now that Dr. Hojo was involved and she knew he had little love for her and her work, she doubt she would even gain a nod as an assistant.

Lucrecia saw one piece of paper sitting on the left of her laptop and growled. Crumpling it up, she tossed it into the trashcan.

"That was quite the conversation, Dr. Honestas."

She sat in silence as Vincent stood in her doorway. Lucrecia was far from being in the mood to talk to anyone.

"Well, you learn to play a few dirty tricks to get to where you need to go, especially being one of the few leading female scientists working for Shin-ra." She muttered bitterly. "And no, I was not compromising information, just a simple eavesdropping..."

Vincent crossed his arms and leaned on the threshold of the doorway. Lucrecia pursed her lips finding his lack of words and even facial expressions only aggravated her. For some reason, she felt she had to defend herself to the Turk.

Lucrecia stood up. " I have a degree at my apartment that states I graduated with top honors in biology and Mako Radiology. I was first in my class, Mr. Valentine. But Professor Gast sees me only that and that I am just a student. I doubt he will ever see me as a colleague. Don't get me wrong, I like working with the Professor, he is a good man, But Dr. Hojo..." She rolled her eyes. "He's a spiteful, conceited pig of a man. If it were his way, I would be warming his bed instead of participating in this project."

She stopped realizing her aimless rambling to a complete stranger. She looked at Vincent and sighed.

"Mr. Valentine, I am so sorry... that was so unprofessional of me to have said all of that in front of you."

He uncrossed his arms and placed his hands in his pockets. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

Lucrecia fell silent, still feeling embarrassed. She turned back to her computer where her research and prepared glass slides sat waiting.

The Turk glanced at his watch and shrugged. "So you know, I agree with conceited part..." Vincent turned around left the room. Lucrecia listened for the footfalls, but all she could hear was the occasional creak of a floorboard. She rubbed her face with her hand. Even though they had only been there for a better part of the week, it seemed Mr. Valentine knew more of what was going on there then she did. Shin-ra had it's reasoning for sending that particular man to the mansion, but for what, Lucrecia had no clue beyond the typical explanations.

Looking up at the door, she sighed_. 'Is Shin-ra that paranoid about their details of Mako or is it something else? Better yet, someone else? Is it Hojo by chance?' _She was aware of previous projects that had fallen to the wayside due to the scientist's involvement. Lucrecia heaved a sigh, hoping that Professor Gast could keep hold of his goal and keep Hojo's sticky little fingers off of it.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Good morning, Mr. Valentine." Lucrecia greeted as she hunched over a microscope. Vincent took his normal place just to the side of where the scientist's worked. He merely sat down and scanned the lab. Professor Gast sat in the far end where his library of text and records were stored in a series of soaring shelves that eventually circled around him like rampart walls.

Vincent's eyes finally rest on Lucrecia as she analyzed several slides, occasionally jotting a few notes down on a pad of paper. Gast left his desk and approached Lucrecia curious to see what she had found so far. Stepping aside, Lucrecia allowed the professor access to the microscope.

Vincent fought a yawn as he sat and watched. Saying little, Gast walked away and returned to his desk. Lucrecia tilted her head as she looked at Vincent who looked less then thrilled.

"I was thinking of getting some coffee. Could you use something, Mr. Valentine? Maybe some tea, hard liquor?"

_'Isn't it a little early for that?'_

"Why?" Feeling a little confused about what she was alluding to.

Lucrecia shook her head. "It just seems that you did not sleep well."

Vincent raised a brow. "What do you mean, doctor?"

She gestured to his hair. "It looks a little bedraggled, like you slept in on a couch two sizes too small."

He ran his fingers through his hair and then offered a slight smile. _'Better? I suppose I could have used a comb…'_

Lucrecia walked over to a small table where a coffee peculator sat with several mugs. She filled two of them and offered one to the man. He received the cup quietly while she kept the other.

"This must be a rather dull assignment for you, Mr. Valentine. Having to sit through sample after sample, listening to us ramble about DNA sequences, broken genes, and gene patterns..." She opened a small cup container of coffee creamer and poured it into the coffee. "Honestly, I personally would find it kind of drab if I hadn't a clue what was going on." Lucrecia picked up a red stir straw and placed it into her drink and swirled the creamer around.

Vincent looked at his mug and then at the surrounding laboratory.

"It's not too bad, Doctor."

This time she raised an eyebrow. "You're not just humoring me, are you?"

He looked at her with a dead expression. Setting her coffee down, she went back to her microscope and continued to write down notes. Vincent sat back and sipped at the warm drinking, finding a little comfort in it. The lab door swung open as Hojo marched in with a several file folders tucked under one arm. The scientist made his way and sat down at the larger of the two desks in the lab and sat down. Gast came out and met briefly with Hojo before he returned to his desk back in the book stacks.

The Turk watched Hojo for a while before setting his mug down. _'What do we have today, Hojo?'_ Vincent walked over and peered down at the notes and frowned. They were notes about Mako weapons. _'Now, sir, what does weapons have to do with cells of a frozen woman?' _Vincent glanced up and saw a book on DNA sequences. Picking it up, he pushed the weapon notes away with the book.

Hojo set his pen down and touched the tips of fingers together in a moment of silence. "DNA sequences are certainly a complicated study, Mr…." Hojo paused and removed the book and closed the notebook with his notes. "I'm sorry, it seems I have forgotten you name."

Vincent slipped his hands into his pockets and turned away. "Mr. Valentine, sir."

_'Would you also like to meet my friend, Mr. .45 caliber? I certainly could make arrangements.'_ Having briefly seen Hojo's notes, Vincent was now fully aware that Hojo did have his own agenda and it did not correspond with Gast's initially intentions.

Absent-mindedly, Lucrecia poked at her fried fish, seeming to lack the interest in eating.

"I have had the strangest craving for a restaurant back in Midgar. It's this little Wutai take-out place. I would often order from there. I liked their pork thing with rice. Just don't eat their fried rice. I heard they recycle it."

Vincent tore off a piece of bread and dipped it slowly into the stew. "I ate their food once, if it is Wong Way's Wutai you speak of." He shook his head slowly.

Lucrecia's fork stopped briefly catching the general vibe of displeasure. "I would think a man like you could handle a little heartburn." She broke off a piece of fish and ate it.

He looked up at her and then glanced away sheepishly. "It made my ass hurt."

Lucrecia's face dropped, her forked paused in mid-motion unsure what he meant by his comment. Then it suddenly became clear about his allusion. "Oh." She looked back down at her fish; unsure she wanted to know that type of detail about anyone.

"Was it the peppered chicken stuff? I heard they don't actually use chicken. I had a lab attendant get pretty sick off it once, but I think it was because he was coming down with influenza."

He dunked another piece of bread into the juice. _"Not the chicken dish. It was deep fried and swimming in grease. Slid down easy enough and it was about the same coming out.' _"I went to a nice little place in Sector five." Vincent recalled that evening being the time he had just completed a lengthy assignment, and had stopped a small restaurant for dinner. About the time he received his meal, several medical vehicles and a patrol car raced past the front of the restaurant and down the street. "The food was excellent, service was good. The night I was there, there was some sort of opera performer and a cello."

Lucrecia picked at the cooked root vegetables. "Sounds nice."

Vincent smiled briefly. "It was." _'Especially after five drinks…'_

_'This bed is too short.'_ Vincent thought as he tried to keep his feet from hanging off the edge. He rolled to his back and stared at the ceiling. He watched the shadows of the trees make their dance as the light of the early summer moon setting in the sky. Vincent realized that sleep would be evasive, so he allowed himself to be content with laying in the silence.

He had to admit that this was one of his hardest assignments. Grant it, the study of an ancient body was interesting itself, but it was not like that it was going to suddenly regain the ability to walk away. Vincent amused himself with the thought briefly. _'Entertaining as it may seem, definitely not possible.'_

Despite the appearance, there was a great deal at stake with all who were involved, as he had learned. Professor Gast had studied the Cetra and their culture, hoping to unlock their mysterious past and their disappearance. Having the opportunity to actually study a Cetra body was certainly a once in a life-time experience, but what would happened if it was not a Cetra? Vincent assumed it would not bode well if that were the case. _'Dr. Hojo would certainly be inclined to point the finger at someone, and it would be certain it would not be himself whether it was his fault or no.'_

Being the head of the Science department, Hojo seemed to have an ego that was twice the size of his head and still growing. Though, Hojo still had something lose in this project if it went bunk. Vincent hazard to guess part of it was his reputation, the very thing that he seemed to value the most. However, the Turk sensed it would not necessarily break the twitchy man. Irony would have it the sole reason he involved was because of Hojo. He was a brilliant man, but had a habit of taking over projects and completely destroying them while trying to accomplish his own purposes.

And then there was the assistant, it seemed she would have the most to lose or gain. From what he gathered from her conversations and mannerisms, her career rode solely on the outcome of the Jenova project. _'A gamble she is willing to make, it seems.'_ It was no worse then one who chose to be a military soldier or a fisherman. Fate has it's own mind and it does seem to matter whether was one agreed with it or not.

_'She certainly knows how to play a good game of poker.' _He mused recalling their game from several days ago. That event told him the most about the young scientist. She knew when she could drop her poker face and when to wear it. And when she did, none would know the better. Vincent sat up and swung his feet to the floor. Vincent reached up and rubbed at his face and brushed his hair back. His dark eyes rolled over to the small ticking clock on the wall. The hands rested on the four and the six respectively. _'Damn… It will be dawn soon.'_ He rested his face against his hand and closed his eyes. Even though he had retired to his bed after the scientists had retired, it felt like he it was only moments ago.

The Turk sighed and forced himself to lie back on the bed hoping that he would sleep. However he knew that he would have to get back up in about hour for the first ground checks. Growling, he put the pillow over his face. A scratching sound came suddenly to his attention. Peering from underneath the pillow, he watched to see what was causing the sound. _'Rat or mouse?' _He pondered. For a brief second, a mouse ran across the floor to the other side of the small servant's quarters_. ' That things has to die…' _The scratching began again with in the thin, plastered walls. Vincent pulled the pillow hard over his ears, trying to block the sound.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The early morning sunlight slowly filled the circular room with it's early summer warmth. The intricate wrought iron and stained glass designs were reflected in the varied shadows cast on the wooden floor. Several narrow tables sat beneath the curved windows with various sizes of pots and trays sprawled out on the top of them.

Making a small hole in the soil with is finger; Gast placed a small seedling in the indent and gently packed dirt around it. He then slipped a small white plastic tag with its category, location and the name of the plant. Giving a small amount of water from a watering bottle, the professor went about repotting several other seedlings into larger pots. Setting the completed pots into the respective places along the sun filled windows, Gast stood back and clasped his hands behind his back.

_'That should do it.'_ He thought looking over the tables. Each pot represented a fading species of plant. As a small side hobby, he made small collection of seeds and cuttings, hoping to grow a small garden of plants that would soon no longer be seen on the planet.

"What type of project do you have today, Professor?"

Gast smiled recognizing the only female voice within the mansion.

"You should know more then anyone else. It was one of the first projects I had you work on..."

"And I will never forgive you for it, sir." Lucrecia leaned against the doorway as she finished putting on her red uniform tie.

"Ah, but it is a two-fold experience, where one suffered pain to only come to appreciate what joy truly is."

Lucrecia shook her head. "Aren't you romanticizing grunt work a little, Professor?"

Gast walked past her, already jotting down some notes on a notepad he kept in his right lab coat pocket. "One day, you will return the favor on your own assistant."

He made his way down the hallway and toward the room entrance into the basement lab. Lucrecia looked at the small plants and smiled. Despite Gast sometimes-grumpy demeanor, there was something that were endearing, such as his devotion to plants. Turning, Lucrecia walked down the small way that was lit by three towering windows. There was something almost peaceful and yet unnerving about the structure. Though she assumed the unnerving part was how many ghost stories centered on large haunted mansions that had soaring windows and a massive chandelier. She shuddered for a moment before walking again. _'There you go again, being foolish. There is nothing to those stories. They were only made up to get us kids to behave and go to bed when we are told to.' _Though it maybe that she also disliked large houses.

Lucrecia suddenly stopped near the top of the stairs. She listened hard trying to define what she heard. Not taking another second, she turned heel and raced into Gast's office that was near the conservatory. Pushing back the curtains, she saw a Shin-ra helicopter landing down. Leaning as far in as she could, she tried to make out who stood near the landing pad. She knew it was not Gast since she had just talked to him not just a few minutes ago. Seeing a white lab coat, she could only assume it was Dr. Hojo. _'Odd, I don't recall him leaving or mentioning he was expecting anyone...'_

Two men stepped off, dressed in civilian clothing, but Lucrecia knew they had to be soldiers. No local would carry such large caliber guns. Hojo approached them under the whirl of the propellers_. 'What on earth...?'_ A slight movement just below window caught her attention. Looking down, she found Vincent perched on the broadest part of the large stone fence with what looked like a pair of black binoculars. _'So you saw it too, didn't you? Though I would like to know how you got up there...' _She watched him as he leaned back behind the large trees and shrubs that surrounded the outside of the mansion walls.

Lucrecia looked back up to see the helicopter take back into the air leaving the two men with Hojo. They had already began to walk away quickly disappearing behind the trees. She glanced down only to find that Turk had also disappeared. Concerned by what she saw, Lucrecia went back to her small room and retrieved her labcoat before heading downstairs to the lab. She skipped and raced down the narrow, spiraling stairs as fast as she could without the danger of tripping and falling the rest of the day.

"Professor Gast? Did you know..." She stopped in the doorway to find Gast working at of the test station with Vincent sitting nearby. It was as though he had been sitting there the whole time. Lucrecia opened and then shut her mouth.

"Did I know what?" Gast asked, still looking through the microscope. If there were anything to report, Vincent would have already done so. Adjusting her coat collar she took her place on one of the table where she had left her notes last night.

"How beautiful it is here in the morning?"

"Of course, I am glad you were fortunate enough to catch such a event." Gast scribbled down a few words while looking down at some slides. Vincent sat back and attempted to remain out of the way as not to interfere too much in their work within the lab. After finding him meeting at the helicopter pad with two incognito soldiers, Vincent was more then convinced that Hojo intended to turn a simple exploratory project into something quite on the contrary. However, the Turk knew he was powerless until Hojo did something outright to Gast and his project. Until then, Vincent intended to keep close tabs on the science department head.

_'I wonder if she saw it too.'_. The sound of footfalls and creaking stairs drew Vincent's attention to the main door. A few seconds later, Dr. Hojo appeared late as usual.

"Doctor." Gast mumbled as he continued his work at the microscope.

"Professor." Hojo paused looking over Gast's shoulder and down at the scores of notes and test analysis reports. Rubbing at his chin, Hojo reached down and looked over the data. Finding nothing new or interesting, he placed the paper down.

Lucrecia played with the end of her pencil as she looked over the records, trying to find a piece of information. However, she felt distracted. Her mind kept on returning to what she saw of Hojo. It did not make much sense to her, but she knew it was not good. And then there was the Turk. Despite his attempt to ride under the radar, she could not help but not to notice him. With his edgy hair, manicure appearance and sharp eyes, he was something almost a curiosity to her.

"Dr. Honestas?"

Lucrecia jolted from her reverie. The pencil she had been hold went flew from her fingers, bounced once on the desk top, then off her foot and finally rolled to a stop underneath the furniture. _'Damn...' _

"Just a moment, sir" Lucrecia lowered herself down on her hands and knees so she could get underneath to retrieve her pencil. Lucrecia reached for her pencil and paused feeling a pair of eyes on her. She gritted her teeth knowing all too well who was watching her.

Hojo had paused briefly to watch Lucrecia while she was on the floor. Vincent came around curious of what was going on and stopped. _'Not too bad...'_ He mused taking only a brief glance at Lucrecia. The Turk then glanced over at Hojo and frowned. He was not happening to glance at her, but ogling her. Somehow it disturbed him, but what specifically, he was not one hundred percent sure. _'And that is as close as you are going to get.'_

Lucrecia backed out and came to her feet with pencil in hand. She turned ignoring both Hojo and Vincent and met briefly with Gast to see what he called her over for. Hojo sighed and turned his attention back to the soaring bookshelves. The Turk returned to his stool and resumed his silent vigil over the small research group.

The dark sky was scattered with endless stars, their appearance and brilliance was only amplified by the darkness of the new moon. Lucrecia paused outside of the pub, admiring the sky. Despite the warmth of early summer, the air had dramatically cooled when the sun lowered itself beyond the ominous mountains.

She and Vincent began to make their way back slowly to the pub. But when the gates came into view, Lucrecia hesitated. Despite having another quiet dinner with the Turk and Professor Gast, she was not ready to return to lab where she knew Hojo were lurking. He had a way of creeping her out despite other people being around.

"How about we walk for a while? I could use some fresh air."

Vincent offered only a shrug. Turning, they strolled through the opposite side of the small village and toward a small trail that led around the outside perimeter.

"What do you think Hojo is doing?" Lucrecia finally asked. She had been plagued with the question ever since she saw the helicopter. However, Vincent offered little response as he only shrugged.

"Hard telling." _'What else would Hojo be doing with two, well-armed soldiers? I doubt they are here to take flower samples.'_

Lucrecia was forced to drop the subject sensing he was not inclined to discuss it. She sighed and folded her arms. "I don't trust him, Mr. Valentine. Sure he and Gast get along well enough. It's just that Dr. Hojo has not shown much interest in Professor Gast's work until recently. But I am sure you know that."

She was aware of the purpose for the existence of the Turks: they were simply the guard dogs of the Shin-ra. They guarded tactical and manufacturing secrets, spied on what else people were producing or using so they could stay one step ahead. Weapon production had become a lucrative business, especially when the concept of Mako radiation and bombs were developed. That was the turning point of Shin-ra. It was not long before reactors began to be built to continue Mako study.There were only three reactors constructed, two of which were in Midgar and one in Nibelheim.

The small path came to an end where it overlooked the flat landscape sprawl far into the distance along with the main road. Crickets paused for a moment before beginning again their nightly tune followed by the occasional call of an owl.

"It is really peaceful out here. No traffic, sirens or fights. Just silence." She glanced over to find Vincent standing with his eyes focusing on the sky and every once in while scan the surroundings. Lucrecia shuddered as the cool air seeped past her thin blouse. She looked up at the sky again and watched as a few dark clouds drifted lazily along. "It's been a long time since I have taken a moment to look up at the stars."

"Not that you can see much in Midgar." Vincent added. It was not necessarily the air pollution, but the bombardment of streetlight, buildings and the lights from the two reactors that seemed to wash out the light of the night sky. The Turk glanced over only to catch her trying to hide a shudder. Without giving it much thought, he took off his suit jacket and placed it on her shoulders.

Lucrecia froze when she felt the garment being set down on her shoulders. However the warmth of the coat overruled the confusion and uncertainty of the gesture.

"This is not necessary." She remarked unsure how to treat the gifted garment. Vincent merely shrugged in response. "It's getting cold." He stated.

She was quiet for a moment before she spoke again, feeling uneasy by his polite gesture. "Thank you..." She murmured. _'What next, covering up mud-puddles?'_ How silly it almost seemed to her and yet it was almost welcoming to associate with somehow who was taught some manners.

It took Vincent a second to realize that she had thanked him. "You are welcome." He quickly responded_. 'Its nice to know I am appreciated. _' He watched her briefly before jamming his hands into his pockets. Oddly enough, his long sleeved shirt offered little defense against the cool air. _'...Especially since now I want my jacket back. I didn't realize it was this chilly.'_

They stood in silence appreciating the quiet of the night, until laughter and song poured from the pub as people began to make their way home for the evening.

"It's getting late." Vincent finally stated. He glanced over to Lucrecia who nodded in agreement. They turned and made their way back to the mansion.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note:** _I hope those who read this chapter will appreciate some of the references I make in this section. I must apologize though, but I could not help it._

Chapter 8

Giving a quick glance over his shoulder, Hojo left the confines of the mansion and began to make his way up the path that led into the Nibel mountain range. A large hawk hovered nearby, seemingly searching the crags and patches of grass for prey. Hojo shouldered the pack he carried on his back and continued. Inside he had some minor recording equipment and several syringe samples of Jenova cells. _'That silly fool, thought you could keep the key from me, eh?' _

Hojo had made plans since he first saw the body in cold storage to take samples. However, Gast made it impossibly by keeping the key to the basement and sleeping the very room that had the entrance_. 'My precious syringes...' _

The scientist finally came a to a stop at the first switchback and surveyed his surroundings. Not too far away he could smell the smoke of a small fire. He pushed past several bushes to find two Shin-ra soldiers sitting around a small campfire as they ate their rations. Hojo stood there for a second before he cleared his throat in order to gain their attention. The men jerked and jumped to their feet, saluting Hojo.

"Sir!"

Hojo merely rolled his eyes and walked past them. "What do you have for me, hmm?"

The soldiers looked at each other as though to determine who would speak.

"Sir, we have a specimen as requested, sir."

The man smiled as he tapped the tip of fingers together. "Excellent." Hojo followed after the soldier until they paused in a small clearing. There were several wire cages, but all of them were empty except for one. Hojo walked over and crouched down. He took off his glasses and peered at the white animal the cowered in the corner. Cleaning the lens he put his glasses back on and looked again.

"What is this, hmm? If I had wanted a rabbit, I would have done it myself!" Hojo straightened and peered at the soldier. "Mmmmyes, I think I found a new specimen."

The soldier swallowed. "Ssir!" The man stuttered. The second soldier slowly approached.

"If I may speak, sir? This is no pet store rabbit, sir." The soldier picked up a stick and poked it at the rabbit. After first there was silence as the rabbit sniffed it. It's long white ears laid back and it's eyes flared. The animal suddenly roared and began thrashing at the stick until it broke free. The soldier fell backwards trying to get away from the cage. "Sir, we caught it for dinner until we found it was nothing but a vicious fiend, sir."

"It almost tore my kneecaps off, sir."

The rabbit threw the remnants of the stick around before settling back down in the corner of the cage. Hojo leaned over it and smiled, admiring the rabbit. "What an excellent specimen you are. You will work just fine." He tapped the top of the cage before turning away. He removed the pack and unloaded the goods, which included a small field kit, tranquilizers, tags and the silver case that carried the Jenova syringes.

Gast stood out in the yard behind the mansion, trying fervently not to lose the phone signal.

"What? I can barely hear you...you're breaking up." He responded.

"Gast..." The woman's voice broke off into an inconceivable garble of words and sounds. The professor put a finger to his left ear trying hard to hear the botanist's fading voice.

"Ilfalna, can you speak up? What did you find?"

The connection faded in and out with causing Gast even more difficulty in understand the conversation. "Many things! …Come here." He managed to make out from the distortion of sounds.

Gast sighed. "Not at this time. I am tied up with Jenova right now. Though I think I should be freed up within the next month, at the soonest."

Silence fell over the connection as the signal finally failed. Gast cursed under his breath as he looked at his mobile phone. _'We should really work out a better form of communication. These phones are quite worthless.' _

Ilfalna was the main botanist that worked up periodically near Icicle studying sub artic flora, with her main focus being lichens. Gast admired the woman for both being insightful and dedicated to her work. Normally she was either at the artic station or at a small university teaching. However with the discovery of Jenova, she spent her time at the glacier with several archaeologists as they continued their excavation site where the body was found. He knew they were still unearthing artifacts, but no more evidence of remains beyond Jenova's.

Gast turned off his phone away and walked around to the front of the mansion when he saw Hojo walking through the main gate carrying a small backpack.

"Dr. Hojo! I never thought you to be one for backpacking. Thought I could not blame you on a day such as this." Gast announced. Hojo paused seeing the professor approaching.

"Do you think I do something as frivolous as that when there is precious work to be done?"

Gast frowned briefly. "Of course not, but you are hear for observation. You are not the one doing the work."

Hojo snorted. "Indeed." He walked past Gast and paused. "What brings you outside, Professor?"

"I had to take a call. You know how poor the signal is from down in the basement."

Hojo merely shrugged and entered the mansion. Gast sighed and glanced back the gate. He still had some misgivings about the nature of Hojo's trip outside of the mansion. _'I wonder if he went up to the reactor? He should know how dangerous it is to hike up there alone. Maybe that is what the two soldiers were about that Mr. Valentine had mentioned he saw the other day.'_

Taking a glance at his watch, Vincent sighed. He still had several hours to go before he could call it night. He leaned against the tree outside and looked up at the sky. _'I probably should shower after this. I just hope someone did not take off with my towel. It was not funny even the first time.'_

Walking around the side of the mansion, he only made a half-hearted attempt to check the grounds_. ' The only excitement here was that stupid gopher hole…'_ His mind quickly shifted the matter of Hojo._' What I would like to know is where Hojo goes, but I doubt it is here, probably off in the wilds somewhere…'_ He waved at the mosquito that buzzed near his ear. He waited for it to come close before he slapped it dead when it landed on his neck. _'Damn bloodsuckers...'_ Vincent rubbed at his neck and walked around to the front of the mansion. Giving a quick tug test on the mansion gate, he found it secure. Glancing around briefly, he finally went inside, locking the door behind him.

Shoving his hands in his pocket he starting make his last rounds through the mansion. Before he reached the stairs, a faint sound came from the ballroom. Glancing around, he knew no one would possibly up and if they were, they would be in the basement. Curious, he went through the doorway underneath the balcony and into the small hallway that connect the two wings. He found the main door was ajar with light leaking from behind. The music grew louder as he came closer. _'Who on earth is playing the piano at this time?'_ He slowly opened the door and peered around to see someone sitting at the grand piano playing a simple, but lively classical piece. He looked around the room to find the window bay table had a bottle and glass sitting on it. Vincent stepped into the room and stood quietly as the song continued.

The ballroom itself was artfully decorated with paintings, carved beams and electrical scones made to look like traditional oil ones that are rarely seen. There were several table and floors lamps scattered throughout the room, two of which were lit, one near the round table while another was move near the piano. The last several musical chords suddenly came to the end and the piano went silent.

"I didn't think I would be bothering anyone." Lucrecia stated in almost apologetic manner. She looked over the piano and sat Vincent standing on the other end. "Did I wake you or something? I know the Professor can sleep though an earthquake and not wake up..."

He merely shrugged. "I'm still on duty, Doctor."

Lucrecia sat back and placed her hands on her lap. "Good, um...not good, eh I mean, I didn't wake anyone then. I just couldn't sleep and I find this relaxing..."

"Don't let me disturb you, I was just about to leave..." He walked past the piano.

Lucrecia watched him approach the table and inspect the bottle. " If you wish to stay, I don't mind..." She watched him look at the glass bottle. "Oh that was all I could find storage. I was hoping for some gin, but brandy works just as well."

Vincent looked at the bottle once more before setting it down.

Lucrecia got up and look through the small pile of sheet music that was stored in the piano bench and withdrew another song and set it down on the music rest above the keyboard. Looking it over briefly, she began to play. Vincent paused for a moment and listened. '_She's pretty good for a scientist. Not like I can do better...Though if I were her, I would keep her day job._' He mused as Lucrecia waltzed the through the song.

Lucrecia ended the song and sat back. She looked over and found the Turk had gone, at what point, she couldn't recall. He had left as quietly as he appeared. She could not help but be reminded of a stray cat she befriended when she was little. At first it kept it's distance, but when she brought it food, it drew closer, but with caution still. But over time the cat came, playing and allowed her to even pick it up and be held. Though one day, the cat never came. Lucrecia's parents tried to tell her that the cat went back it's proper home. At the time, she believed it until one day she realized the dead cat she saw on the side of the road, appearing to have been hit by a car, was none other then stray cat she had been waiting for.

Feeling the affects of the alcohol, she pulled the keyboard cover down and left the room, turning off the lights before she closed the doors.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"It was as though some teenage boy was in charge..." Lucrecia stated as she and Vincent walked down the stairs toward the basement lab. She carried an aluminum pan with a hand. " I doubt anyone in their right mind would honestly think canned white fish and horseradish sauce is a suitable food to keep for storage."

"I happen to like horseradish." Vincent stated as they entered the lab. Lucrecia paused trying to judge whether he said that in truth or jest. It was hard sometimes to tell whether he even made a joke.

"Well, Mr. Valentine, it's all yours. I am not a fair fan of it." She set the popcorn pan down the emptied workbench and made her way to a set of wall shelves. Vincent picked up the popcorn pan and looked it over and then peeled the red paper lab that was glued to the top.

Lucrecia returned with a small metal tripod and a Bunsen burner. Attaching the burner to the small gas spigot, she turned the knob. Taking a striker, she then lit the burner, grinning with a certain amount of satisfaction.

_'I have a feeling this is about as gourmet as she gets...'_ Vincent thought as Lucrecia placed the pan on the tripod and adjusted the burner flame to the proper height. _'Just as long as she doesn't blow anything up.'_ After a short while, the kernels inside began to burst in a slow, but growing repetition of popping.

"Tell me, Mr.Valentine, have you ever been out here in the Nibel area before?" She gave the pan a quick shake. The Turk pulled up a stool and sat down.

"No."

Lucrecia stared at the flames realizing that was yet another dead-end conversation. She didn't mind that he didn't talk much, especially when she had something to say. However, there were days where she felt like it was a chore trying to say anything_. 'Then don't say anything, Lucrecia. He may not necessarily be a big fan of small talk.' _She sat down on the other stool and listened to the popcorn. _'Maybe I should do something while this is cooking...'_ She thought then frowned_. 'No, it's late and I am done for the night. I have been working since six this morning. I deserve some, Lucrecia no work time.'_

"Is there something wrong, Doctor?" Vincent finally asked watching her fidget and give the occasional frown. Lucrecia blinked and shook her head. She gave a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine, Mr. Valentine." _'I'm just have an attention span of a gnat and in need of some Ritalin, sir.'_ The aluminum cover slowly began to expand as the popping corn grew underneath. _'Probably should do that analysis, just one more...'_

Vincent watched in curiosity as Lucrecia's anxiousness grew. He was curious of what was causing her to fidget and squirreled around on her stool. It almost reminded him a colleague and his inability to handle coffee. _'Though I am sure the four cups she had was not necessarily within her norm. I get twitching after two and then of course I'm peeing for the rest of the day...'_

Lucrecia removed her tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt, almost more out of habit then anything. "Did you see where Dr. Hojo went? I haven't seen him all evening." _'Not that I care much where that little weasel of man went. For all I care, he can take a long walk off a short cliff...'_

"He is up having a telephone conference in Gast's office." Vincent finally stated. Seeing the popcorn was almost finished, he quickly took it off and set it down on the tabletop to cool briefly. Lucrecia reached into her pant pocket and produced small pocketknife and cut the silver dome open revealing light yellow, puffy kernels. Vincent glanced up only to catch a brief view of the opening of her dress shirt. His eyes lingered for a moment before he realized he was staring and forced his eyes up to Lucrecia's face. _'I didn't see that...'_ His eyes drifted again. _'Okay, maybe I did.' _The Turk forced his attention toward the popcorn pan.

Lucrecia sat back down placing her knife back in her pocket. Vincent reached over and grabbed a few kernels.

"Not too bad for a scientist." Vincent commented and ate few of them.

Lucrecia grabbed a few kernels and smiled. "I try, Mr. Valentine."

Vincent opened the small door that led into a room where he bed was set up among the crates, barrels and boxes. Removing his jacket, he folded it and laid it nicely on the back of a thin railed chair before he made his way to the small folding cot that served as his bed. He removed his holster and tie before flopping down. Smiling, he did not even bother to change out of his clothes as he let his eyes close.

_'Maybe now I can sleep.'_ He mused. Just as he began to drift, scratching jolted him from the drifting darkness of sleep back into the small servant's quarters. His brown eyes drifted over and looked at the pair of barrels and a stack of crates. He waited quietly finally he heard the scratching. Snarling, Vincent reached for his gun and then for the bag he kept underneath the cot with his gun case.

_'You little bastard...' _He opened the bag and removed a small case that carried the silencer for the small .45 caliber gun. _'I'll blow you into little mousy bits...and you won't know what hit you.'_ He thought smugly. Once the silencer was fastened, he turned and waited for the rodent. He could hear it skittered around on the floor and the occasional squeak. _'C'mere, Mr. Valentine has a nice present for you little mouse...'_

After what seemed to be eternity, Vincent caught the brief glimpse of the mouse and pulled the trigger once and then a second time. Assured that he hit his target, Vincent turned and lay back down, setting his gun on the crate next to his bed. Despite the silence and his exhaustion, one thing kept his mind attentive. Vincent could still hear the song that Lucrecia had played the other night, rolling around, repeating and fading only to return in full crescendo. After a while, the music seemed to fade into the back of his mind as he fell asleep.

Gast sat at his massive desk at the back of the laboratory with several documents with hieroglyphic-like characters sprawled across the paper. Within a hand's reach sat several books that kept in reference as he poured over the pictorial nature of the language. Gast still had his misgivings about Jenova's nature. Despite her body being surrounded by Cetran artifacts and dating to their time of existence, he was not wholly convinced. However, time was not a luxury Gast could afford. Because the body had been frozen in the glacial soils, bringing up seemed to cause it to continue a decay rate that otherwise had been stopped. Jenova now laid in cold storage in the darkest corner of the lab, but it seemed to offer a temporary solution.

"Professor."

Gast sighed and looked up over his glasses to find Hojo standing infront of the desk holding a piece of paper. "Though I would inform you that you have been granted access to the Nibel reactor."

The mustache man scratched at the back of his neck. "I don't recall putting in a request. Did Doctor Honestas make the initial inquiry by chance?"

Hojo folded the paper up and slipped it into his lab coat pocket. "Mako radiation could be the key in preserving Jenova, Professor."

Gast frowned. "Have you consulted with Honestas? There is a reason I have her working with me on this..."

Hojo snorted. _'What would that girl know about anything?'_ "The good doctor had no objection to further exploration."

Sitting back, Gast rubbed at his mustache. "That's odd, considering we have not really performed any tests in how Mako would preserve Jenova. From what I understand of Dr. Honestas's work, too much will mutate and destroy cells..."

Hojo crossed his arms in frustration. "You keep on talk as though the Cetra were human, Professor. You should know as much as anyone that Cetra were certainly not human..."

Gast pursed his lips. "And we are not certain they were either. Don't get me wrong, Hojo, but isn't this the whole point of my project is the explore the biological nature of the Cetra and whether Jenova is one of them?"

Hojo shoved his hands into his pant pockets. "Mmmyes, Professor." He turned around and casually left the desk and back to the lab floor. Hojo stopped briefly as he crossed paths with Vincent. Leering at the Turk, he left the lab and went up the stairs. Vincent watched him briefly before entering Gast's study. He found the professor trying fervently to find where he had left off in the text. Vincent cleared his throat trying to gain Gast's attention. "If I may have a moment, Professor."

Gast glanced up and sighed. "Of course, Mr. Valentine. What is it that brings you here?"

Vincent walked closed, briefly glancing over the books and papers sprawled over the desktop. "I could not help but to overhear Hojo's conversation."

Gast chuckled. "There are no secrets here, especially since you are here Mr. Valentine." The professor played idling with a edge of a book. " Hojo is intending to use the reactor to store and preserve Jenova's body. But knowing him, he may have some other plans in mind."

Vincent remained quiet. There was little reason to respond verbally to Gast's statement. In his last telephone report to Marcus, Vincent was told to keep a short leash on Hojo's involvement, but the leash was restricted to the mansion proper and the lab within. Anything Hojo did outside was his own business. Gast continued to rub at his mustache in thought.

"Mr. Valentine, if you would not mind, could you send Dr. Honestas here. I wish to brief her on the some approaching deadlines and tests."

Vincent nodded and left the desk area leaving Gast to continue his task to interpreting the translations of Cetran inscriptions.

Walking up the narrow dirt path, Hojo arrived at the small camp in which the two soldiers well outside of the town. There were a few more animals they had captured, but Hojo offered little interest. Instead, he lumbered over to the initial cage he had first visited.

The heavy wire cage had ropes tied to each side and then was staked to the ground. An army grade wool blanket had also been tossed over it, concealing the small rabbit underneath.

"How is my precious specimen?" Hojo mumbled as he closed in on the cage. The two soldiers looked at each and slowly moved in and took their positions encase the rabbit became trouble. Hojo stopped and looked at the cage.

"Sir, you might want to be careful." One of the soldiers came to one side and lifted the blanket with the tip of rifle barrel. He revealed an area where the rabbit chewed a small hole in the heavy gauge wire.

"Curious." Hojo muttered. He reached down and lifted the blanket off the cage to find the small white rabbit huddled in the corner, watching him. Nothing seemed physically different about the animal other then it's red eyes were more so then the pinkish color when it was first captured. "Come on, show daddy what you can do..." Hojo leaned over the cage trying to gain a closer look at the rabbit. The nearest soldier fidgeted and glanced back at his companion who in return could only offered a shrug. Slowly, they took a step back, their guns ready.

Hojo frowned when the rabbit did nothing more then shiver and wiggle its pink nose. _'You dumb thing! Did I just waste my precious cells on a nitwit of a creature?'_ He tabbed at the wire, hoping to provoke a response. Without warning, the rabbit roared and threw itself at Hojo's hand; it's sharp teeth gnashing.

Hojo threw himself back as the cage thrust itself toward him. The rabbit pressed itself against the wire, tearing and thrashing. Landing hard on the ground, he watched the creature in abject belief. Catching his breath from the scare, Hojo began to laugh. Looking over his shoulder, he found the soldiers standing staring at him while he laughed. Looking at each other, they joined in his laughter until Hojo suddenly stopped. Standing up, the scientist dusted himself off.

"What is so funny?" Hojo snarled. The soldiers cut off and saluted the doctor. Sneering at them, he turned his attention back at the cage where the rabbit once more took its place at the back corner of the cage. "Well, it seems it was not a waste after all." Hojo slowly rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "…Excellent."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Taking the small watering can, he watered several of the small sprouts in their pots. _'Good, good! They are growing fast, hopefully they will grow strong as well.' _Taking a small notebook, Gast jotted down a few notes about the height and color of the seedlings as well as the date. His pen paused as he realized they were already starting on the second month of the Project. _'Time does seem to fly, doesn't it?'_

"Professor?" He took his glasses off and cleaned them on the edge of his brown t-shirt.

"Ah, Honestas, what can I do for you?" He turned to see she was holding a large padded envelope.

"This just arrived along with a letter from Icicle."

Gast smiled and took the items from his assistant. "I have been waiting for both of those, thank you." Shoving the letter into his lab coat pocket, he began to tear into the envelope before he even reached the basement stairs. "Now, this envelope holds some very interesting information concerning some translations." They reached the stairs and began their descent; Gast continued to discuss the nature of the translator and the material that was translated, or at least still in the process. Pulling out the contents, Gast glanced over the brief letter and then the large, bound report behind it.

"Professor." Gast set the bundle down and turned his attention back to Lucrecia.

"If it is well, I shall be upstairs working today. I need to prepare your reports and the additional testing." _'And so Hojo doesn't try to make another move on me like last time.'_

Gast turned and only waved his hand. "Fine, Fine." His attention wholly focused on the large report that sat on his desk.

Lucrecia shook her head and left Gast to pour over his new data.

After his assistant left, Gast took a seat behind his desk and opened the lengthy report and translation of one of the largest section of Cetran script that was in possession today. The linguist he worked closely could not agree more that Jenova may be on the mythical warriors that fought the sky. Even though the artifacts did not explicitly state a formal burial or even the status of Jenova, they did find one thing that would support her warrior status.

Upon the body's initial discovery, x-rays and other diagnostic tests were run. That is when they found a stone projectile point lodged on the right side of her hip. As of that moment, the projectile point was still lodged in the bone. Once the equipment arrived from Midgar, Gast would proceed to remove it and see if it compares with other similar points that have been associated with the Cetra.

Gast was more then excited, he was elated. His initial doubts about Jenova being a Cetran were slowly being resolved. Not was she possibly a Cetra, but one of the many mythical warriors mentioned in the inscriptions. _'So what I said to Shin-ra is not entirely a lie.' _Gast feared some days that he uncovered nothing other then a stranded glacier climber. It was known to happen for people to get stranded out in the icy north and die from exposure, but Gast knew with the depth in which was located was too deep for it to be anything recent. However, the only date they had was the date of the strata they found Jenova in. _'This could be trouble if dates don't match up...' _

Gast stroked his mustache as it seemed when he resolved one anxiety, there was always another to replace it. Reaching into his lab coat, he retrieved the small letter that arrived with the linguistically data. The letter was from none other then the botanist. Ilfelna reported briefly on her examination of botanical materials found within the strata.

Lucrecia reached the top of the basement stairs to find Vincent waited quietly, leaning against the doorway. She walked past him and made her way to where her work was set up in her room. With bed moved to the far end, it opened it up enough to grant her the room she needed. The Turk entered and sat down in a chair near the window. Taking the paper he had tucked under his arm, he unfurled it and began to read.

Waiting for her computer to finish loading, she glanced over and saw the newspaper.

"Where on earth did you find that?" She asked. Vincent glanced past the edge briefly before he folded it in half.

"Nowhere in particular." He was just glad to have something to muse himself. Never mind the news inside was about four months old. Lucrecia glanced back at her computer screen to find the small green cursor blinking against the black background. Lucrecia sighed and sat back.

"You reading the editorial, sir?" She inquired. Fishing around in the paper, Vincent withdrew a section and held it out to her. Thanking him, she opened it and began to read and then stopped. "I thought they just finished elections in sector 5...that was, what, six months ago?"

"Four actually." Vincent offered.

Lucrecia looked up at the date in the far right and found that the paper was four months out of date. Rolling her eyes, she thumbed through the remaining of the editorials. "I suppose you can't ask for too much around here." Seeing her computer had finished loading, she folded the section up and set it down on the desk. Once passwords were entered, Lucrecia began to tedious task of report summaries. _'One thing they don't teach in the University, that science is twenty percent actual work and eighty percent paperwork.'_

Vincent remained quiet as he thumbed through the paper. At least it was old enough; he didn't recall half of the information_. 'It's almost new to me...well sort of. Oh hey, there's that comic that got passed around...'_ However his amusement was short lived when the temperature of the room began to rise. He initially moved his chair away from the window, which brought him closed to Lucrecia's makeshift desk. Picking up his paper again, he continued reading.

Lucrecia glanced over the top of her laptop screen and found Vincent had moved from sunny window_. 'I was wondering how long that would last. Summer sunlight and wool suits definitely do not mix.'_ Lucrecia mused before returning to her work. After a moment, she glanced up again to find he had removed his suit jacket. She forced herself to refocus and picked up a test sheet only to find she had already it's information. Her eyes wondered back up again to find him loosening the dark tie from around his neck. Lucrecia swallowed finding it hard to tear her attention away. Pursing her lips, she forced eyes back down at the computer screen. The crinkling sound of the paper broke what little concentration she had and stole another glance to find he was yet again loosening his tie and began unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt.

Suddenly, Lucrecia's pulse shot up in response to what she saw. She reached up and loosened her own tie feeling overwhelming hot. For whatever reason, Lucrecia could not pulled her eyes away.

"You would think with the amount of money they put into this place, they would have thought to put air conditioning in." Vincent finally voiced. "Right, doctor?"

Lucrecia flushed red when his brown eyes looked at her _'Oh god!' _Feeling embarrassed at being caught staring, she forced herself to look busy all the while still pulling at her tie and shirt collar. "Indeed, Mr. Valentine." She finally managed to say.

Vincent went back to the last of his paper, amused. _'I suppose it's fair enough. Though this is not the first time I caught her looking. Nice to know we share a mutual interest. I like her blouse and she apparently likes my tie.'_

Lucrecia returned her attention back to her laptop and continued to type of the next report for the Professor. _'Must be in the mountain air...'_ She mused as she transferred the information to the computer. _'I have had my far share of interests, but never had that type of reaction…'_ She touched her cheeks and found them to still be warm. _'I'm just being silly. I am a fully component woman…no, scientist! Yes, I am. All I have to do is acknowledge that I am attracted to him and pursue no further. Deny one's emotion only gets one drunk and wake up in a strange place afterwards.'_ Pushing personal thoughts aside for the time, Lucrecia set her attention on the task at hand.

Vincent folded up the paper after completing its contents. He sat the paper down with the piece that Lucrecia had set aside and stood up. Leaving the room, he removed the silver cufflinks from his cuffs and carefully rolled up his sleeves to just below the elbow and then buttoned his shirt and straightened his tie. _'I suppose I should be a little more polite, that seemed to have distracted her too much.'_ Vincent then smirked. _'As it should…'_ Walking casually, he made a brief round around the mansion, particularly looking for Hojo. Finding he nowhere, Vincent began to make his way back to where Lucrecia sat working when he paused. The Turk caught a brief flashed of a white lab coat. _'Definitely not Gast, I just saw him at his desk.'_ Vincent came around the corner to find Hojo standing in Lucrecia's doorway, talking.

Lucrecia did not even take notice of Vincent's absence until someone else entered the room.

"Ah, Doctor Honestas, just the person I want to talk to." Hojo announced. Lucrecia's face dropped briefly before she put on a smile.

"Doctor Hojo, how may I be of assistance?"

Hojo looked at her for a moment before taking another step into the room. "I thought you might help me with a little task, mmkay? Nothing large, really. Just a small and simple task."

Lucrecia tried not to frown. _'What type of task does he have that is actually small and simple?' _"And what would that be?"

Hojo inched closer, tapping his fingertips together. "Hmm? Oh, it's just I want to do something at the reactor. It's that Jenova…"

"Get who to where?" Vincent inquired from behind. Hojo's face darkened with annoyance as he turned to address the Turk.

"That would be none of your business, Mr. Valentine. I was just having a pleasant little chat with the good doctor. Mmmyes, a very nice chat." He glanced over at her with furious eyes.

Vincent crossed his arms and looked down at the scientist. " No disrespect intended, Doctor Honestas, but such large matters should be taken up with the Professor. There is no reason to burden his assistant with such matters."

Hojo crossed his arms and forced a smile at the Turk. Stealing one more glance to Lucrecia, Hojo slid past Vincent and left the room. After a moment, Lucrecia sighed and offered a smile to Vincent.

"Thank you. I know it is not good if he is coming to me and asking a favor."

Vincent nodded and leaned against the doorway, remaining silent.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

After placing down a long, metal ruler next to the body's hip, Lucrecia picked up the camera and took several pictures before she took final picture of the head and rest of the body.

Gast slipped on his latex gloves and then a paper mask over his mouth. Hojo stood a short distant preparing to take tissue samples while he and Lucrecia went about extracting the projectile from the hip. Taking a deep breath, he glanced over Jenova's dark, shriveled body in amazement. For as old as they thought she was, her body was in immaculate condition, even after being excavated from the ground. But there was something strange about the fact that bothered Gast. Jenova certainly resembled the images that were painted on the walls of the Cetran temples, but it wasn't necessarily that. It was something else that almost raised the hairs on the back of his neck.

"Professor, shall we begin?"

Lucrecia's mask muffled voice startled him from his thoughts and merely nodded. Picking up a scalpel, Lucrecia bent over and began the first incision into the mummified skin.

Vincent glanced away finding the operation was making him a little squeamish despite the fact there was no blood present_. 'I still don't quite understand how that kid got the frog to do what it did.'_ Vincent shuddered and walked quietly to the other end of the lab. _'It's a dead body, nothing like that stupid frog...'_ The turk shook his head. It wasn't so much the sight or smell that bothered him it was the cutting. Even though he was a grown, component adult, he never forgot the squirting frog from his days in secondary school, second period biology. Vincent's eyes glanced over the book that sat on the shelves. Reaching up, he drew down a book on Cetran myths and legends.

After some slow and careful cutting, Lucrecia stepped back to allow Gast a clear view of the partially embedded projectile. He picked up the camera and took a quick picture before Lucrecia began the painful task of removing he stone from the bone. Careful not to destroy any more of the body then needed, Lucrecia slowly lifted the point all the while saying a pray to any deity that would listen. She lifted the lithic point and set it gently down on the tray. She the exhaled the breath she had been holding. Turning back, she gave the opening a quick look and froze.

"Professor? Come and look." Lucrecia gestured to the hipbone frantically. Gast leaned close and tried to see what his assistant was getting excited about. "I swear to the stars, Professor Gast, you see that open wound just about there...it was twice that size!"

A frown line formed between his eyebrows. "Are you sure about that, Honestas? Though I suppose we can take another picture and we can compare later." Picking up the camera, the snapped a quick picture and set the camera down.

"Professor, could it be that legendary healing powers the Cetrans are touted to have, hmm?" Hojo offered as he scraped skin cells from underneath the corpse's fingernails.

Gast held an expression of confusion. "Perhaps. This is certainly strange." He finally shrugged. "We will know in time. Let's finish up and put our lady back to bed."

Gast examined the point before placing it into a padded envelop for shipping. "The boys back the main lab should find this interesting. I have never seen such a material used before for points. They favored obsidian and chert and sometimes agate...but this is certainly something else."

Gast and Lucrecia prepared the body to be placed back into storage. Reaching for the zipper of the bag, she began to pull it toward the body's head and paused. For a moment she swore the small gash that point had rested was no longer apparent to her eyes. Looking at Jenvoa's face one last time, Lucrecia closed the bag.

Running water over her soapy hands, Lucrecia finished cleaning her hands and arms. Gast walked up and smiled. She glanced up and returned the smile.

"Good work, Honestas. I knew I could trust your hand that."

She turned the water facet off. "I am just glad my study in medical school came in handy. My teacher said I had a way with dead bodies."

Gast chuckled. "Well, let's just hope you are just as good with live ones." He crossed his arms and glanced at his pocket watch. "Gees, it's already four. Tell you what, I think I am going to lock the lab up early today and take a well deserved break."

He glanced back and found Hojo hunched over the microscope. Toward the bookcase, the professor took note of the Turk seated, watching them. Gast returned his attention to his assistant. "We can begin analysis tomorrow."

Gast began to walk away. "The flowers are in full bloom, Honestas. Those silly reports are not going anywhere." He approached Hojo and started talking. Lucrecia dried her hands and set the towel next to the sink.

"As you wish, Professor."

Birds flew overhead toward the woods outside of town. Lucrecia smiled feeling the warm sun and seeing the vibrant colors of an early summer evening. Vincent walked quietly next to her with his suit jacket slug casually over his right shoulder.

"You didn't eat much this evening." Lucrecia commented.

Vincent shrugged. "I didn't have much of an appetite."

She slid her hands into her pant pockets. "Too bad, the house chicken was really good. Almost like homemade. Though I was not a big fan of dark meat, but it was tasty all the same."

The Turk remained silent. Lucrecia gave him a sideways glance and smirked. She knew why he didn't eat and it amused her.

"During dinner, I could not get what happened with Jenova today. I swear I saw some of her wounds heal. These were serious wounds, either puncture wounds or even gouges. There is no logical reason for such traumatic wounds to heal post mortem."

"Do you think it was chemically induced, doctor?"

Lucrecia paused and looked at him. "Chemically induc...? Absolutely not." She pursed her lips briefly annoyed he would make an assumption what she was in disillusion. "I should show the pictures once they are developed...maybe even go back to the body and you can see for yourself..."

Vincent waved away her offer. "That is quite alright, Doctor. I will trust your good judgment on that."

"You don't need to be ashamed, not everyone has the stomach to handle this. Ten people from my original class dropped after the first cadaver dissection." She stated in a smug manner. It seemed the turk was going to avoid her comment with silence. Before she knew it, they were walking the outer fringes of the small town. In the distance beyond the rolling green hills was the faint glimmer of the ocean while the dark shadow of the Nibel mountains rose up, dominating the western side.

For a moment, Lucrecia stood still enjoying the sight, smell and feel of the quiet and yet lively landscape.

"Gast wasn't kidding about the flowers." She mumbled as she took into account the first wave of blooming wildflowers that dotted the hills. "Now only if I could get an office view like this. Brick walls are not necessarily the most inspiring."

Vincent looked over the still landscape and smiled inwardly. Oddly enough, it was nice. He was not much for the whole "nature" thing, but it seemed to bring a sense of peace that he lacked when he worked in the streets of Midgar. It took him a moment to realize that Lucrecia had continued walking toward a hillcrest. Quickening his already long stride, it took him little effort to catch up with the young scientist. Once at the edge, she sat down with her gaze out toward the shimmering waters in the distance.

"It's quite peaceful isn't it?" Vincent mentioned sitting down next to her.

She glanced over and offered a slight smile. "I thought I left the country behind when I moved to Midgar, but I guess when you grew up with it, it becomes a part of you." She felt almost silly admitting it. There were things she missed from her rural hometown. "Every year my town would hold a chocobo festival. Many of the people's livelihood depended on those silly birds. The biggest thing was the chocobo race. My mom with other women held food booths selling everything from chocobo eggs to meat and fruit pies. My father always got in trouble trying to steal a piece from one of the pies. I wasn't much better..." Lucrecia offered sheepishly. "Matter of fact, my father got from town to town via Chocobo to treat patients."

Vincent listened quietly as Lucrecia rambled on about chocobos. He, to be honest, did not have any love for the domesticated aviary. _'Like hell I am going to admit when I was little those stupid things use to make me cry.'_ He suddenly realized she had asked him a question and was expecting an answer. _'What did she ask? Let's see, she was talking about chocobos right? Dammit.'_

"No." He responded, sounding resolute despite his insecurity of the proper response.

Lucrecia shrugged. "Didn't think so. You seem like one of those kids who kinda did there own thing." Her blues eyes focused on the deepening sky as the sun sank behind the mountain range, it's rays quickly consumed by the encroaching peaks.

Vincent mentally sighed. He glanced over to make sure she hadn't started onto another conversational thought_. 'I suppose I would be ready to make 2 out of 2.'_ He mused. The turk's brown eyes lingered on her. _'Hmm, I never really been one for brunettes. Kinda have a liking for a red head...maybe a blonde.'_ His eyes paused on the loose hair that hung around her ears and the bangs that just barely brushed the top of her eyes. _'Kinda nice...good complexion. I wonder if it is as soft as it looks?'_ Vincent forced his eyes away. _'What are you thinking? Look at the clouds.'_ He focused his gaze on the stray clouds that feathered the darkening sky.

Lucrecia gave him a sideways glance, as she knew he had been watching her_. 'A shy guy are we? That would be nice. Well mannered, has a good taste in clothing...smells nice.' _Lucrecia fought her impulse to pursue that thought with something else.

"Tell me, Mr. Valentine, do you think there is an afterlife after the Lifestream?"

"I dunno. Never gave it much thought." He offered.

Lucrecia brought her knees up and rested her arms on them. "I have had time to think about that, sir. To think that I would never see those I love after death seems, well, almost dismal. To disappear as though you never existed."

Vincent leaned back on his hands. "I doubt the Ancients meant that. It's more or less everyone returns home."

Lucrecia closed her eyes. _'Home huh? I pray my mother is home with my dad now.' _She had received a letter several weeks ago. Lucrecia had no real reason to open the letter, as she knew what it would say inside. The major clue was the handwriting on the return address, which was by none other then her mother's hospice nurse. Lucrecia knew that it would state that her mother had passed. But somehow she just could not bring herself to read it. "Well, I guess we will all know in time, huh, Mr. Valentine?"

The Turk nodded. He could not help but to hear a hint of something almost melancholy in her voice, but what he heard was quickly dissipated. It seemed the woman had a way of covering most of her tracks and when one was overlooked, she quickly hid it away behind a smile.

A buzzing quickly distracted his thoughts. His eyes looked around trying to locate the origins of he sound. Reaching up, he smacked his neck and pulled his hand away to find the remains of a mosquito. Not too long after the first, more seemed to follow. Lucrecia watched as the Turk killed one bug after another.

"Are you one of those people who get eaten alive by bugs, by chance?"

Vincent squished another mosquito. "I don't even know what you are talking about." He waved another one away from his ear. "Let me guess, the bugs could care less about you?"

Lucrecia sighed, trying not to laugh. "That seems to be the only thing I can repel. "_'Now all I need is an anti-freaky, short man repellant. Maybe even a anti- Hojo repellant would be nice.'_

Vincent smirked. _'Well, if that is the case, why don't you sit a little closer?'_ He thought better then to say it. To the east, the large gold image of the moon began to rise replacing what light was lost when the sunset. Despite the evening, the air was still warm but the cool air from the mountains were quickly rushing and dropping the temperatures. Suddenly, something swooped down at the top his head. Out of pure trained instinct, Vincent reached for his gun and searched his surroundings. Lucrecia flinched at the motion, unsure what had triggered his reaction. She sat stiffly, unsure to relax or be ready to run.

Annoyed, Vincent dropped his hand from the gun and glanced at Lucrecia whom was staring at him. Blinking, he frowned.

"Forgive me, Doctor, I didn't mean to startle you." He rubbed at his jaw absentmindedly. Lucrecia's blues moved above his head and she laughed. He frowned and looked around. "What is so amusing?" His voice edged on annoyance.

She pointed up a dark thing that seemed to hover briefly before swooping. "I think you were dive bombed by a bat, Mr. Valentine."

He heaved a sigh. "I think they forgot to mention the viciousness of the wild Nibel bats. Did I ever mention I hated bats?"

Lucrecia could not hide her smile." I am getting an impression you don't like animals period."

Vincent glanced away, hiding his smirk. "I like animals well enough, especially on my dinner plate."

Lucrecia stood up and brushed her pants off. "If that is the case, I would watch out for bones. Bats wouldn't be my first choice."

The Turk came to his feet and pulled his suit jacket on. "Funny."


	12. Chapter 12

**_Author's note:_**_ Yes, you are not imagining things; the chapters are getting quite a bit larger. Fortunately this is due to growing detail of the events. Because of this, it is harder to divide things down into simple chapters. So, look forward to larger chapters on the most part._

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Chapter 12

Gast was already in the lab by the time Lucrecia arrived. She had not slept well despite her attempts to inducing through a book. She made her way over the coffee pot and poured herself a drink.

"I see you are up bright and early, professor." Lucrecia announced as she took a seat at one of the lap tables. Gast glanced up from the report he had finished.

"Actually, I haven't really gone to bed yet. I just couldn't wait to start going over the data we collected. I got some of the samples ready to ship to Icicle for the archaeologists to look over..." Gesturing to one of the yellow envelopes. "And those we can run here while the remaining we will need to send to Midgar for labs to run."

Lucrecia sipped at her coffee. "All of this without a cup of coffee, I suppose?"

Gast removed his glasses and cleaned them. 'Actually to be precise, three cups of coffee, two of which was were left over from yesterday."

She paused. _'Only he would drink day old coffee. Though I suppose my day will come as well.'_ Lucrecia glanced around and noticed Hojo was not there again.

"Where did Dr. Hojo go, or is not here yet?" Lucrecia walked over and looked over the papers Gast was shuffling through.

"Huh? Oh, I haven't seen him yet this morning. He's been doing that lately hasn't he?" Pushing at his glasses. He handed Lucrecia a page for her to look at. She looked it over and set her cup down.

Gast rubbed at his mustache. "I went and got those photos processed yesterday after I closed the lab. I think you should see them." He gestured her to follow him into his desk area. "Recalling your observation, I found the images of the two wounds and I think we have found something quite curious indeed." Gast shuffled through the photos and handed his assistant the two that showed the wounds, one of which was before the operation while the other was post extraction.

"Have you any clue to why that happened? Never in my studies have I seen or even heard of this happening."

Gast smirked. "Now see, this is why are here today." He shifted through several reports. " Tell me, Honestas, how would you go about explaining this phenomena, what would case flesh to change?"

Vincent had been curious himself of what Hojo did in the mornings before he went down to the lab. Before, he knew there was little he could do, but at least now he had incentive to see what exactly was going on. Taking his high-powered binoculars, he went out into the back garden and climbed up to the top of the stone fence. In the distance he could still make out the fading image of the scientist as he walked up a dusty path into the forest of trees that butted against the summit path toward the Mako reactor.

_'I can see you. Now why don't you show me what you're hiding back there.'_' The Turk dropped the binoculars down after the scientist's image was obscured behind the dark green bows of the birchs and evergreens. _'Dammit...'_

Still crouched, Vincent carefully moved to another position, but found it offered little improvement. Other then following the man himself, Vincent knew he was done._' I suppose we will know soon enough what's he up to, I fear. Unless I go take a small peek for myself.'_

Hopping down, Vincent straightened his tie and jacket before walking back into the mansion and to the basement lab to resume his sentry watch over the remaining scientists.

Lucrecia barely took notice of the Turk's entrance into the lab until he took a seat across from her. She glanced up from the microscope and found he was had yet another newspaper.

"Now I am curious. Is that still four months out of date by chance?"

Vincent's face remained solemn and still, but she knew from the glint she caught in his eyes that he intend nothing by mischief.

"Two weeks old." He offered stiffly before opening it up.

Lucrecia could not help but wonder what he was really thinking when he said that. Sighing, she went back to her work, thumbing through a medical book. She then looked back at the delicate tissue sample she had treated for viewing. It was tricky game with the process of rehydrating the mummified tissue and then placing it into a solution in order to increase the viewing ability under the lens.

Vincent scanned over the news and then stopped on a small headline.

"Doctor, you might find this interesting. Shin-ra had announced plans for building a new reactor in Gongaga."

Lucrecia placed her delicate sample onto a glass slide. "Why on earth they are placing it all the way out there? I can think of more strategic places to build a reactor. But I suppose they have their reasons. Everyone does." She slid the slide underneath the microscope. Vincent went back to reading the remaining stories with little interest. There were at least three guaranteed things that would be found: someone was murdered, a large fire and a health warning about eating this and not eating that.

"Hmmm, doctor."

Lucrecia slowly lifted her head sensing someone standing next to her. She looked at Vincent and watched where his gaze fell_. 'Damn, that is who I thought it was. You cannot mistake the way he talks.'_

"How can I help you, Dr. Hojo?" She avoided making eye contact with the scientist. He placed his hand down on the tabletop and leaned over her shoulder, apparently looking over her work.

"I need you do this for me." He placed a small stack of papers and a small hard plastic case on top. Presumably there were test samples inside. '_Now I know you can run these yourself! So why don't you sit on it and spin.' _She looked at the work and knew that it would easily take most of the day to complete, not counting what the Professor wanted her to complete for his work. Lucrecia sighed. Hojo leaned closer. "Hmmm? Is there a problem, Honestas? Perhaps I need to find someone else who is more capable to complete the needed work." He reached out to the stack. Lucrecia placed her hand down on the paper, stopping him.

"When would you like this done, Dr. Hojo?"

He leaned close to her ear. "Four hours, mmkay?" He pulled back and walked away seeming almost smug. Lucrecia swallowed and looked at the work. There was no way she could complete all of that in four hours.

"Please tell me, Mr. Valentine, there is something amusing in that paper?"

Vincent looked at Lucrecia and then at the work Hojo had dropped off on her. _'She looks like she could use more then a joke...' _Sighing, Vincent turned the page to the next section in the paper.

By the time the small clock on the far wall rang four thirty, Lucrecia finished the last test and data sheet as Hojo requested. Relieved, she walked over to where he sat and dropped the pile next to him.

"Four hours, as stated." She then turned and walked away not pausing for a response from him. She allowed herself a moment of relief before turning back to the Gast work she had been working on before Hojo's request. Picking up her small, square lens reading glasses and picked up the test slide.

After walking his normal rounds through the mansion and the outside grounds, he returned to the lab and found the scientists still in their respective places hard at work. He pushed back his shirtsleeve and glanced at his watch and found it was near seven. Reaching into a one of his pockets, he produced a small silver wrapper and unraveled it and popped the small white mint into his mouth.

Lucrecia took off her glasses and rubbed at the bridge of her nose. She had little love for wearing them, but they did offer relief from the eyestrain that came with the long hours of detailed work_. 'I only have three more tests and I will be done! Technically two is I put that last one off until tomorrow.'_

"Honestas, what is this?" Hojo shoved the data sheet under her nose.

Blinking, she finally reached up and took it from him. "What do you mean? The numbers are right and I did as req..."

"No, the numbers are not right. This is not the only one either." He presented three more sheets.

Lucrecia's face paled upon the possibly that she may have error in some way. She took the other sheets and looked them over, growing more confused. "But, sir, these are the numbers. I ran them twice and some three times to make sure there were correct."

Hojo snorted. "First off, this number is short two decimal places and you see this one? I reran this number and this is not anywhere close to what I got. So, Honestas, what do you think you did wrong, hmmm?"

She swallowed suddenly feeling like she wanted to cry. After all the work she had done, he was accusing her of cutting corners and recording incorrect data reports. Gritting her teeth, she fought to keep her composure.

"I will rerun the tests, Dr.Hojo."

Hojo simply crossed his arms. "You most certainly will. And you will keep on doing it until I am satisfied." He turned and walked away. Lucrecia stared the work in despair. _'What did I do wrong? I swear everything was correct.'_ She mentally reviewed her process and did not find a single thing she overlooked. Lucrecia knew Hojo was a tyrant when it came to detail, but something just did not seem right. Pulling out her calculator, she ran one of the numbers he had claimed was incorrect. After a moment, she compared and found the numbers did not match. Confused she looked at the number and ran the calculation again. _'What is wrong? This number is nowhere close to what I just jotted down.'_

A white mug was set down near her hand. Glancing up she found the Turk walking away. Picking up the mug, she took a drink and found it near to how she normally made it. _'No sugar and the right amount of cream...' _

_'You didn't have to do that.'_ "Thank you." Bowing her head briefly. Vincent paused and nodded his head in response before walking back toward Gast's desk.

_'I dunno why I even ordered anything, I'm not very hungry.'_ Lucrecia pushed the fried potatoes around before managing to spear one piece with her fork. It was unusually quiet for the table. Even Gast was quiet, which was normally not the case. His daily pint of beer sat nearly untouched as he ate his meal. The only thing was seemed normal was Vincent's silence.

She knew most of problem was the concerns of what happened with Hojo's tests. The more she thought about it, the great her frustration grew. _'Maybe he changed the numbers? Bu why? What purpose would that serve, plus, he is the department head, or at least recently the department head. He would have greater petty things to do then to harass someone's overworked assistant.'_ Lucrecia admitted mentally she was somewhat jealous of the Turk. _'You don't have anyone like that hovering over your shoulder. Though I wonder, sir, if you are as cool and collected on the inside as you appear on the outside?'_

As though on queue, his brown eyes rose up and met hers. Lucrecia swallowed and threw her eyes to the side trying to avoid his gaze. _'I'm just being silly. I am letting Hojo get to me and distract me from my work_'. After Gast had been informed what had taken place, he quickly went about to remedy the situation with Hojo. '_That must have been quite the meeting after Gast threw me out of the lab_.' Part of her wished she could have been a fly on the wall.

Gast sighed and pushed himself away from the table. "There are a few things I need to get done tonight.' He looked over at his assistant. "And I don't want to see you anywhere close to the lab until tomorrow morning." He warned with a slight smile. Lucrecia merely nodded in response. "Good, then." Gast got up and left the pub leaving her and Vincent at the table.

The skies had grown dark with heavy clouds as it seemed a storm was moving in. _'How appropriate.'_ Lucrecia mused in relation to her mood. Despite the tense, still air the smell of moisture grew heavy.

"We probably take cover before it rains." Vincent offered mechanically. The wind suddenly stirred through the trees, first in a gently gust and then it quickly blew harder. Lucrecia looked up and only to be hit with the first drops of rain. Oddly, she found a simple, almost childish joy in it. Not too long after the two drops, the rain crashed down in a torrential downpour.

They ran down the town street and took cover underneath one of the overhanging eves of the houses. Lucrecia smirked realizing how thoroughly soaked she was. Her bangs were plastered against her forehead and hung in her eyes, dripping. She looked up and found Vincent's normally wild hair had also been tamed into soggy, limp mess that clung to his face and hung over his eyes. Reaching up, he pushed the wet hair away. For once Lucrecia saw his face in its entirety.

"I guess we're a little wet huh?" She mentioned as she tried to wring some of the water off. _'A little? How about a lot...'_ He could not help but notice her shirt was soaked all the way through. Forcing his eyes away, he instead watched as the rain hit down hard creating instant puddles in the streets and caused the house gutters to overflow creating artificial waterfalls.

The wind barreled through along the corridors and streets sending the rain for a brief moment falling at a steep angle. His eyes then slid over toward where the mansion gates were. He knew they could stand there and wait the storm out, knowing how summer rains last, or make a run for it. Though the thought of waiting for the rain to stop while being as soaked as he was did not bring him much pleasure and he was sure was not something his scientist companion wanted either.

Lucrecia looked at the Turk and tried out what he was planning. Then she caught the faint glint of mischief she often saw despite the lack of emotion that was represented in his expression. He looked at her and then made a short head bob toward the mansion. He removed his jacket and as they ran, he held it up over them to offer a little protection from the cold, ocean rain.

Once past the gate, they paused underneath the covered doorway entrance inside. Lucrecia smiled finding some joy in what normally could have been quite miserable. Vincent attempted to shake the rainwater from his suit jacket before placing it around her shoulders. This time, Lucrecia felt no awkwardness about his gesture. She could not but help to feel a little overwhelmed by his kindness.

"Not to be disrespectful to you, Mr. Valentine, but why are you being so... generous?"

Vincent blinked; it was as though he wasn't sure how to respond.

"Why not?" He finally answered.

She looked at his face as though she was looking for something other then his simple responses. Without giving it much thought, Lucrecia reached up and pushed away the few loose, wet strands of hair from his eyes_. 'You have such nice eyes, it's a pity to hide them behind all of that hair!'_ Her fingertips glanced his cheek and for a moment she paused wondering if she had done the right thing. But he did not push her away or pull his himself away from her hand. His eyes remained on her face, watching and analyzing her. Her fingers lingered a while longer, slowly drifting down his face and rested briefly at his jaw. Vincent's eyes searched her face, as though he was looking for something. _'Or wondering what to do in return.'_ Lucrecia's hand then dropped.

She removed the jacket from her shoulders and offered it back to the Turk. "You might want to hang dry that." She mumbled as her eyes lingered briefly once more on his face before opening one of the double doors into the mansion.

Vincent remained standing outside clutching his jacket. He was stunned as there were thousands of things that each of them could have done, but choose not too. He could almost still feel her touching him and strangely enough, he liked it. Several impulses had crossed his mind and choose not entertain any of them, especially the one that involved kissing her. If there were one thing he was would do, that would be the act of keeping private affairs separate from business. _'You know there is a way around that. I would be foolish to think otherwise.'_

Vincent sighed. There was a lot to think about and great deal to consider. The wind blew again making him shuddered underneath his wet dress shirt. _'If it were any_ _other time, I would have had a problem with a woman coming on to me, but I suppose this is a little different._' He opened the door and went inside. _'I suppose it makes a difference that she is not underage, posing to be older. That was a little creepy perhaps. And then there was that ding-dong of a red head. Sure, she was sexy, but you had to wonder if her hair dye went to her brain.'_ The Turk made his way to the bathroom to retrieve his towel so he could dry off. _' Then there was that one with the jealous ex-boyfriend. Sadly the only amusing part was the fight. After that, she brought out the emotional baggage. Sure, people have issues. Hell, I have my own, but I know there are some that you have to leave alone when their issues have issues. '_ He took his towel and began to dry out his hair all the while making his way back to his makeshift room in the servant's storage.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Seated on an upturned bucket, Hojo wrote down observations and the percentage amount of the injection. After the initial dose, it appeared that the rabbit was calming. It gnawed passionlessly at the carrot it had been offered along with other vegetable matter.

His studies and discoveries in genetics made it possible to be where he was that day. He could have what he wanted and anything more was just within his grasp. Students fought to work in his shadows while his colleagues either revered or despised him. After all the ridicule he received early in his career, he knew he became the very thing they said he would never achieve.

Hojo was not wholly sure what to expect when mixing Jenova's cells with the rabbit. In the back of his mind he knew that nothing was supposed to happen. Instead, not only were there physical changes, but behavioral changes took place as well. The only question he had was whether the rabbit would live long after the initial injections. There was the possibility that Jenova's DNA may be too unstable and cause a complete genetic breakdown.

The other thing that could either expedite or slow the process down was the introduction of Mako. Mako was certainly a strange thing where it could bring life and bring death in the same breath. Shin-ra had found when sent through a process to break the molecules, it could generate greater energy then any other process known previously. Hojo was quite aware that Gast's young assistant had already begun research on using Mako radiation for medical purposes, but he was not about to let some woman steal what additional achievement he could achieve over time. Then again, he might be able to use her idea to achieve his ambitions of replicating Jenova's DNA and eventually clone a Cetran.

His dark eyes drifted back to the huddle image of the white rabbit in the back of the cage. Closing the notebook, Hojo stood up and began to inspect the remaining animals. Finding them to be lacking in what the rabbit had, he ordered the soldiers to set them free and find something else. He wanted to make sure the animals were strong both physically as well as genetic to withstand the stress that injections and mutations produced.

After he gave the soldiers new orders, Hojo made his way back to the mansion. The reaction the rabbit had given when injected gave him hope once more about recreating a Cetran via Jenvoa's DNA.

Even though it was late, the air remained the same temperature it had been since the rainstorm past over the night before. Vincent had already removed his jacket and tie seeking some comfort. Making his last round, he walked up the stairs to find Gast and Hojo's doors closed. Before he descended the stairs, he paused finding Lucrecia's door was still open with a light shining behind it.

He came in and stood in the doorway curious to see how long it would take her to notice him there. The usual evening dinner was brief since both her and Gast needed to run one more test before the night was done. He found her sitting at her desk typing up the report she had been working at for the past week.

Lucrecia suddenly stopped typing and took off her glasses. "Good evening, Mr. Valentine. I am supposing you haven't been standing there very long."

Vincent leaned against the doorway, his shirtsleeves rolled up to the elbow. "I must be loosing my touch."

Lucrecia turned and shook her head. " Or it's just the simple concept of elimination. Gast knocks on the door and Hojo, well; you just kinda know when he is around."

The Turk entered her room and looked over some of the books she had stacked around. His eyes fell one titled "Corpus Mortis". It somehow reminded him about her comment of her father being a doctor.

"Tell me, Doctor, what got you into this field anyway? Cadaver study is not something that is taught to young daughters."

Lucrecia sighed. "My father was a doctor. He worked between three small towns and when I was old enough, he had me come with him and assist on minor calls."

Lucrecia would always remember that one time it was suppose to be a routine call when the patient had died during the night. That was the first time she had ever seen a dead body. The face always remained plastered in her memory. Lucrecia carried on when she realized she had drifted from the Turk's question. "You can say that I was raised to take my father's place. My parents raised enough Gil to get me started in a basic apprenticeship and eventually ended up where I sit now."

Vincent picked up another book on principles of radiation and free radicals. _'Mako radiation?'_ He picked up one of the books and handed it to her. "What has you into Mako research?"

Lucrecia she took the book and watched him. "I hope you are not doing that weird Turk profiling stuff on me." She teased. "I don't know. It was something that just happened. I had just started working under Professor Gast when I stumbled into some significant information that I found fascinating. If I can get the research grant money I need, I will pursue it and gain my official seat on the board. Only then will I be drinking with the best of them."

Vincent paced slowly to the window. There was a great deal of detail she had left out of the conversation, but he expected that. Lucrecia watched him wondering what brought up the questions so suddenly. _'You know, some guys actually bring flowers, candies and maybe ask to have dinner. Though, I suppose interrogation should be added to the list.' _ Lucrecia stood up and stretched.

"Ok, Mr. Valentine, it's my turn to play twenty questions. What brought to what you do? I know they do not teach how to use _that_ in primary school." Lucrecia glanced briefly at the gun resting in the shoulder holster.

Vincent folded his arms. "Sorry, that's confidential."

Lucrecia gave a light snort. _'Confidential my ass.'_ As she moved closer, she found he was watching something outside.

"Tell me something, Doctor, is there a limited season to hunting around here?"

Lucrecia placed her hands on the back of her hips. "One would assume there would be a limited season, why?" She looked out the window trying to find what may have brought up such a question. Her eyes fell upon a faint glow out in the base of the Nibels. _'Now that is a little odd.'_

"Campfire? Being so close to town, why would anyone want to camp there?" She glanced over at the Turk. He merely shrugged.

"That is what I was wondering." He moved his arms and tucked his hand casually into his pockets. Vincent turned away from the window his hands moved from his pockets. "Nice view by the way."

Lucrecia blinked feeling a little thrown by the casual compliment. "Thanks." Reaching back, she readjusted her hair slide, removing it briefly before clipping it back in a more comfortable position.

An uncomfortable silence quickly fell between them. Lucrecia shifted from one foot to the other in an attempt to alleviate the tension, but it only seemed to grow stronger. Her eyes began to wander only to fall on the Turk's face. The shadows cast by the desk lamp only made his tense eyes ever more so. Lucrecia swallowed trying to read what was going on, what he was intending. At this point, she felt like her heart was in her throat making it difficult to breathe deeply. In the corner of her sight, she saw his hand move. At first it seemed to move toward her, but at the last moment rerouted to his hair where he combed his fingers through it. He turned his face away seeming to return to its normal somber, placid appearance. "I should be going. It's late." The Turk began to make his way to the doorway.

Lucrecia did not know why, but she stepped forward as though she wanted to stop him from leaving. Her foot hovered before she forced back in its original position. Vincent paused only briefly in the doorway before disappearing into the darkness of the hallway.

Lucrecia stood staring at the doorway both in curiosity as well as in disappointment. She knew part of what she did last night was too impulsive, too irrational and yet felt right and it felt good_. 'And this is why I don't like getting involved with anyone. I just get to know someone and it all goes to hell. But then again, this feels different. For once I am not the one playing hard to get.' _Lucrecia closed her room door and locked it.

Rolling over on his side, Vincent picked up his wristwatch and found it was four in the morning and still had not gotten to sleep. Frustrated, he threw his pillow over his head as though it would quiet his mind. _'I took sedatives once. I certainly got to sleep, but slept past my alarm clock and made me late for work by two hours. So that definitely does not work. Maybe I should try drinking something. Though the last time I drank, it was enough to get me to say things I later regretted.'_

He threw the pillow off his face and forced it back behind his head and stared at the dark ceiling. Normally, there were several things that kept him awake at night, but this night it was one in particular. _'I could have kissed her, should have. Maybe then I could actually sleep.' _Vincent rolled to his side after feeling a metal bar of the cot pressing into his lower back_. 'Perhaps I should think about something else.'_ The Turk sifted through his mind trying to find anything to obscure the images of that took place earlier. _'Well, I can think about making a report to Marcus. That will be due here soon. What should I report on? Gast's project is going well, Hojo is being his usual self and oh by the way, Gast's assistant isn't too bad after all.'_

He growled. _'Scratch that, maybe I will prepare that in the morning. Gast mentioned he had an early morning phone conference coming up soon with Shinra. …Lucrecia should be taking her usual shower in the morning...'_ Vincent threw the pillow over his face. _'Stop that. I know that mouse is still alive. So for the love of hell, come out and bother me you stupid rodent.' _He removed the pillow shoved it back underneath his head.

Vincent listened but all he heard was the mechanical ticking of the wall clock. Suddenly fascinated with the sound and not too long after that, the Turk finally fell asleep.

_Taking a deep breath, the Turk made a running jump and vaulted over the side only to land in a triumphant splat. The only problem with the vaulting is there was not definite way to stop once you were on the other side._

_'At least I landed on my feet.' Vincent winced as he felt the garbage and debris slip around underneath him. It had been raining sporadically through the day making a dirty job far worse. 'Okay, blue plastic bag.' He lifted up crushed boxes, bags of garbage, shoes and paper. There was also a half empty box with fruit covered pastries. 'Hey there's even danishes in here. Probably day-olds.' He then frowned realizing what he just thought._

_"We don't have all night, Valentine."_

_Vincent growled and withdrew his hand in disgust after sticking it in something wet and slimy. 'Somehow not seeing that offers a little comfort.' Vincent straightened out and addressed Hank._

_"If I can see what I am looking for, we can get out of here faster." Hank approached the side and looked over._

_"Damn, glad it's you doing that."_

_Vincent snarled. "Just give me some light...oh hey!" Slip sliding over to the far corner; he grabbed a small piece of blue plastic that stood up from underneath a cardboard box. Vincent quickly produced a small bag, the one they had interest in looking for. Hank snatched it from Vincent and opened it up and dug through the contents. Finding the torn halves of a picture, he tossed the rest back into the dumpster._

_Happy he found what they were looking for; Vincent had momentarily forgotten he still needed to get back out. Looking for anything to launch himself off of, he found only soggy trash. Taking a chance, Vincent attempted to vault back over. Ignoring the cold wet metal, Vincent lifted his left foot up to the edge and began to pull himself up. Instead, his foot slipped and he only backwards into the trash._

_Hank looked back to only to hear Vincent yelp and a pair of hands flailing at the air._

_"Valentine, I never thought you to be one to goofing around." Though all he heard in response was an "ow"._

_Lying still, Vincent reassessed his situation. 'Vaulting it is definitely out of the question. What did I land on?' He quickly scrambled to his feet the best he could, his back soaked in the bottom liquid smelling like a combination of vehicle oil, laundry detergent and fermented grapes. 'I suppose I could swing one of the black covers and climb over...' His thoughts broke when something furry brush past his ankle._

_Vincent shrieked and jumped in response. Hank watched as his Turk companion scrambled up from inside of the dumpster and perched precariously on the edge with his gun drawn._

_"Valentine?"_

_The dark Midgar sky gave a rumble followed by several large drops of rain. Soon those drops turned into a downpour._

_"Mr. Valentine, we're a little wet aren't we?"_

_He turned his head and found he was back at Nibelhiem with Lucrecia. 'The rainstorm' was all that crossed his mind._

_"Mr.Valentine?" He felt her warm, damp hands touch is flushed face. _

The vague sound of a rhythmic beeping drew him from deep within his dreams. He reached out blindly and turned the small alarm off and turned to his side. Despite it being a dream, he felt his face tingling.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The lights slowly flickered to life as Gast entered the lab after putting a few hours of sleep behind him. Despite the books and rugs, the lab still held the dim image of being in the basement. On the most part, the concrete was left bare along the wall while wood cabinets and shelves hung against it. Making past the various glass storage doors and propane tanks, he paused infront of the place where Jenova was stored.

Concerned by what he had seen with the photos, opened the lid and uncovered the body. His eyes went wide in shock. _'Lucrecia was right! Jenova is changing.'_ Gast however hesitated in assuming it was regeneration, as much as Lucrecia did. Not only had the wounds healed, but the skin was losing the darkness time and death had brought. Gast knew she still had to be dead, and then what is going on? This was not the normal apparition of fungal growth or bacteria growth. Taking a sterile swap, he took a few more samples of the changed tissue to determine what is creating the change.

"She's quite a curious specimen, isn't she?"

Gast straightened up and acknowledged Hojo's sudden presence.

"Curious would be a lighter term then I would prefer."

Hojo took his place next to Gast and scanned the corpse. "Such a rare find, Gast. Though I have heard they may have found some additional remains?"

Gast rubbed at his mustache. "But nothing nearly as complete as this." His eyes lingering on Jenova's body, "Not even close."

"Indeed. I am very close to unlocking the gene code of Jenova."

Gast gave him a sideway glance. "Seriously?"

Hojo flashed a smug expression, tinted with superiority. "You doubt my skills, hmm? I did, by record, uncover the human genome."

Gast's eyes slid back to Jenova's body. "I don't doubt your skills, Doctor. I was just merely surprised by such a quick turn around after gathering cell samples about a month ago."

Hojo sighed as he crossed his arms. "You should have a better assistant, Gast. Honestas is good for desk work, but when it comes to real thing, I feel she falls a little short."

"A fast response should not come in expense of detail and accuracy."

Hojo snorted and walked away pausing briefly to turn on some of the lab machine to continue his work in separating DNA from the tissue samples. Gast could not help but harbor some minor concern for Lucrecia's reputation with Hojo. She had done nothing but good work._ 'It will be an uphill battle all the way to the top for her, I fear._' Gast closed Jenova away and began to prepare test for Lucrecia to run once she arrived.

"Professor?" Lucrecia knocked on the side of the bookcase.

"Yes?" He mumbled as he continued looking over a report.

Lucrecia approached his desk ignoring his gruff response. "I thought you might be interested in this."

She slid a manila envelope on to his desk. Placing the current report down, he picked up what Lucrecia had brought in. He glazed over the words and thumbed through the page. The thick frown line between his eyebrows unfurled and a smile flickered across his lips.

"This is fantastic! When did this come in?"

"It arrived via Chocobo this morning, sir."

Gast pour back over the major details of the small collection of samples he sent back to the larger labs in Midgar. "Bacteria counts, contents of the stomach, cell anomalies. Honestas, I never thought we could be so close to seeing how a Cetran lived and even ate."

The report also held a brief explanation of the clothing found on her body and the artifacts. Gast frowned as he finished the report.

"Professor?" Lucrecia inquired. He waved her concern away.

"I was hoping for a report back on that projectile point we found, but hopefully as the digging season wraps up here soon, we will hear back from the labs."

She merely nodded in agreement. Gast stood up. "We should celebrate! So much has been done in such a short period of time, thanks to your diligence."

Lucrecia smiled. "Thank you, sir."

Gast marched past her. "And just ignore Hojo for right now." Lucrecia in turn followed him and met up with Hojo for a planned meeting to review what had been discovered so far and determine what needed to be discovered next.

Lucrecia seemed tired. She sat in the grass playing with one of the yellow flowers, rolling it around. Though Vincent could not blame her considering how much work Hojo dumped on her after the meeting she had with him and Gast. However, he did admire how well she defending herself throughout the ordeal.

Vincent turned his attention away for a moment. He had debated throughout the day what he was going to do about Lucrecia. It was obvious she had some affection for him, but he was concerned about returning that affection. _'Mixing such business could be a very bad thing for both of us.' _He watched as the sun played with the shadows in the grass and reflected on the puffy white clouds that ambled by. He was use to keeping his distance from people and for good reason. But now it was not so easy and he did not want to push her away. _'Maybe I should tell her that we shouldn't do this and keep our distance? Or I could just turn a cold shoulder to her.'_ Though he knew she was putting a great deal on the line to show him what she did_. 'Perhap just once is all I need. Then we can move on and she can do her work and I can do mine.'_ He turned his attention back to her, watching her fingers play with the narrow stalk of the flower. _'What if this is not the only time? What if it will lead to more?' Is there something wrong with that if I want more?'_

He reached over to her and gently turned Lucrecia's face to him. Taking both hands he cupped her face. _'What if this is wrong?'_ He let his thumbs rub her cheeks. Before he could reason himself out of it, he leaned forward and kissed her.

Pulling way, Lucrecia opened her eyes and swallowed. For the first time, she found there was nothing she could say or think. She could only feel and even that was clouded. Bringing her hand up, she brushed Vincent's hair from his eyes in an almost meditative motion. She watched his eyes scan her face as though he was seeking approval or feedback.

Lucrecia felt a grin pulling at the corner of her mouth. "Now I know what that meant!"

The sense of openness on the Turk's face slipped into confusion as though her reaction was not what he expected or wanted.

"What do you mean?" He finally managed to ask. Lucrecia continued to caress his face all the while.

"It's just that…well...I just realized what a philosopher meant when he stated that actions of love can make a poor man feel rich, a sad man glad and a smart man stupid. Or something like that."

Vincent blinked. "So I made you stupid?"

She saw he was vaguely amused. _'I am sure he was not expecting to do that. Well, at least he is a decent kisser...none of that sloppy, drooling stuff I sometimes run into.'_

"In a way, yes. You are the first man who made me stop thinking for a moment."

The moment was shattered by the sudden sound of nearby gunfire. Whether it was reflex or instinct, Vincent threw her and himself to the ground and waited for anything more. After a moment, he slowly rose into a crouch trying to stay below the tall grass and flowers. He scanned the surrounding terrain while he released his handgun from the shoulder holster. Lucrecia lay still unsure what was going on.

Taking note the initial direction he heard the gunfire, he looked in the opposite direction. His eyes fell on the dense forest that lay at the base of the mountain. The air suddenly fell silent as though the land was holding its breath. The only sound that echoed in Lucrecia's ear beyond her racing heart was the sound of the Turk caulking his gun. The man she had just kissed was no longer there now replaced by something cooler, more ridged and calculating. His dark eyes turned and settled on her face.

"Stay low and make your way back to mansion." Seeing she was hesitating out of shock, his eyes narrowed. "Now!" He whispered harshly. Nodding, Lucrecia slowly backed away, her attention torn between him and the town a short distance away. She found herself out of place. Lucrecia was a lab rat or ever once and while go out in the field. The biggest danger she had ever faced as a small bear who when spotted by her ran the opposite direction. Lucrecia knew she now needed to rely on Vincent. This is what he was trained to do and this is why he was here; as a Turk who had been specifically trained to protect and guard as well as to gather intelligence. Focusing her whole attention on the mansion walls, she crept along the grass, trying to stay low. Once she came within a yard's reach of the wall she stopped and looked back. Last she had seen him, gun in hand creeping toward the woods. Not wanting to be an obstruction, she continued until she was within the safe confines of the mansion.

Quietly, the Turk entered the mansion, his gun resting silently in its holster. Despite his efforts, he found little to explain the gunfire. He found a few empty shells and a few footprints, a drag mark, but nothing much more. _'Probably the hunters that belong to that campfire I saw yesterday, though I am not sure why they are hunting with a .38 caliber handgun.' _The .38 caliber gun was military issue only, nothing that a civilian had access to. If anything, Vincent definitely did not like that they were firing off so close to the town. _'If they missed, that shot has to go somewhere…' _He knew the town youth tended to play out in nearby field and sometimes ventured toward the woods against their parent's wishes.

Hearing the upbeat sound a piano, Vincent followed it to the ballroom. _'At least it sounds like she made it just fine. Not that I was all that worried. There were only those two shots fired and nothing more...' _The music stopped and voices were then heard.

He slowly cracked the door open and found Gast standing next to the piano with what looked like some papers. It seemed they were talking something about the project. Not want to disturb them, Vincent left the door slightly ajar and left the ballroom.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The pub that evening was unusually quiet and lacking the normal activity. There only five other people, two of which were seated at the bar front sharing conversation. Gast sat back and readjusted his round glasses while he watched his assistant shuffle the cards.

"I never thought you were one to gamble." He stated. Lucrecia flashed him a small smile.

"I get that alot. And then again, people don't see practicing science that same way." She began to deal out the cards between her, the Professor and the Turk. Vincent glanced down at the bag of peanuts sitting near Lucrecia's elbow.

"A snack by chance, Doctor?"

Lucrecia ignored his question for a second until she finished dealing. "I thought I would be nice, so we bet with peanuts."

Vincent raised an eyebrow_. 'Being nice huh? Or you think I would actually get my money back and then some?'_

Gast picked up one of nuts and inspect it before breaking one open and popped the nutmeat into his mouth.

Lucrecia looked over hand and tried not to frown. Once again she had a rotten hand and she had little hope of gaining any improvement. After a moment of time, dealing additional cards, Vincent began and set the initial ante with Lucrecia and Gast following suit.

After several hands, it became apparent that Vincent was once again making his haul, but not at easily had he had thought it would. He found Gast was easy to read; especially the frown crease would furl with even the small of thought. And then again, Gast also had a habit of rubbing at his dark mustache. However, Gast was quick to catch on and began to give false signals. Vincent was amused.

A waitress came and placed several plates of food and the pitcher of ale that Gast had ordered along with a round of drinks served in glass pints. Gast had tried to get Hojo to join them, but he was only brushed off with the excuse that he had "better things to do with his precious time then waste it at some dive of a pub".

Despite Lucrecia's protest of not liking to drink, he insisted that he wanted to treat everyone to something he liked. Gast certainly enjoyed a good drink at the end of the day. Lucrecia could not help but wonder if he had spent too much with the archaeologists. She glanced up to find Vincent had a similar expression, which faded as he looked back at his hand. Holding her pint up in a thankful gesture, she took a drink.

"I think I have an idea of the unknown in Jenova's stomach." Gast stated as he threw a few peanuts into the middle of the table.

"You mentioned something about a root that Cetrans ate?" Lucrecia half asked and half stated as she met the ante. Vincent forced himself not to listen as the two scientists began to discuss the ancient partially digested stomach contents of Jenova.

"It's a bulb they would harvest once a year." Gast looked at his card before throw out a few more peanuts. "If that is the bulb in her gut, then this simple find will be amazing. Especially since the camas bulb was also used in ritual before warriors went into battle."

"I was under the impression that the Cetrans were peaceful people?" Vincent asked offhand. Gast blinked.

"Good point Mr. Valentine. Cetran were overall peaceful people, but they did have their fights between each other, stemming back to ancient traditions of their fathers. There are some points where the warrior class would merge with those of the shaman." Realizing it was his turn; the professor threw out a few more peanuts from his pile.

Lucrecia took another a quick drink from her glass. " So I guess the answer is yes and no, Mr. Valentine." She stated. The Turk could not help but chuckle.

Gast placed his hand down. "Back to the camas bulb, I was wondering if you could help me with a minor task."

Lucrecia glanced over at the professor. "Let me guess, you want me to find you a bulb?"

Gast pushed his glasses up. "And this is why you are my assistant. Now I know there are some around here."

Lucrecia waved his trailing comment. "Of course, sir. I can do that after dinner if you like."

Gast peeked at his cards and tried hard not to sigh. "That would be fine, Honestas. Though I would suggest you take the Mr. Valentine with you. I don't want you to get hurt on my accord."

He looked over at the Turk who nodded in return.

Vincent glanced over at Lucrecia and found no signal of what she had. He then caught a brief moment where she touched her cards to her lower lip.

Vincent threw a few more peanuts to the middle.

" Full house." Vincent placed his cards down.

Gast sighed and laid his hand down. " Four of Kings."

The Turk's eyes went wide for a moment. _'Damn.'_

"What color are you looking for again?" Vincent asked as they stood on a small dirty path just behind the mansion walls.

"We are looking for the blue camas flowers. There is also a white version, but it is poisonous."

Vincent's eyes glanced over the hall grass. "So the only way to tell the difference which is poisonous or not is when they are in bloom?"

Lucrecia nodded. "Exactly." They continued to walk, searching through the bright clusters of summer flowers. Normally camas only bloomed during the early to late spring months, but being so close to the mountains and a higher elevation, the flowers bloomed later. "I don't see why Gast could have done this. He is better with plants then I." Lucrecia looked at the exposed stone of hills and cliffs. "Despite my biology background and all my work with medicine, I have a terrible black thumb when it comes to plants."

Vincent was quickly reminded of the probably long since dead plant on his kitchen counter.

Her blue eyes caught the slight glimmer of blue one of the cliff ledges near the edge of the woods. "There!" Lucrecia picked up her pace in order to reach the flowers. Vincent had little problem keeping up even though he could feet the slick surface of his shoes slipping on the grass.

Though once she reached the ledge, she found she could reach the edge and neither pulled herself up nor was anything particularly close for her to grab.

"Need a boost?" Vincent finally offered. There had been many a time during assignments he had to give his partner a boost over a wall or into a window. At least this was legit task.

Lucrecia nodded her head. Freeing her hands, the placed the short strap of the kit bag between her teeth and bit down. After giving her a quick boost, Lucrecia had only a short climb to the ledge. Vincent stood silently watching her slowly make her way to the small patch of flowers.

Lucrecia reached out and pulled herself over to the patch of grass and flowers and took a deep breath. _'I hate high place, but I know hate is not a strong enough word. Sure I can distract myself on a flight, even with the help of some liquid courage._' She swallowed forcing her eyes away from the fact she was high enough for it to hurt if she fell, or at least it felt like it. Lucrecia fought the urge to cry and instead focused her attention at the task at hand. Opening the kit, she pulled out a small trowel and began to dig up several of the blue flowers. _'Such simple things: four pedals and yellow stamens. I wonder how well they would take to being in a vase?_' Lucrecia plunged her hands into the dark, red loamy soil and withdrew several bulbs and placed them into in a paper lunch sack.

"I'm almost done." Lucrecia announced. Her mind still reeled from what the Turk did last evening. _'Not it was something off a movie screen, but he does certainly have the ability to make me forget my middle name if I am not cautious.'_ Placing the trowel back into the small kit, she secured the latch and sat back on her heels.

Working up the courage, she looked over the edge and found Vincent looked up at her waiting. "Catch." She lowered it down as far as she could before dropping it. The Turk caught hold of it with ease and stood by waiting for her to come down. _'Now I got up here, how on earth am I getting back down?' _She looked back to the way she had come and found it a little unnerving. It was a steep drop and she knew the footing would be tricky._' Like hell a little phobia is going to get the better of me.'_ Determined, Lucrecia began to make her way back down.

The climb was slow and Lucrecia quietly began to hum to herself hoping to keep herself calm as she continued her descent. Finding the ground was only feet away brought a sudden surge of relief until she felt her foot slip and she slid the rest of the way down. After what felt like an eternity to her, Lucrecia finally landed hard on her butt, her eyes squeezed shut.

"Lucrecia?"

Hearing her name startled her back into reality. Who called her by her first name? She opened on eye and found Vincent watching her with an amount of uncertainty and concern. Lucrecia start there staring at him for a moment before she realized what she was doing and shook her head.

"I'm fine, I just wasn't sure how far that was... we should get those samples back to the professor." Lucrecia bumbled awkwardly with her words as she stood up and dusted her pants off. He handed the kit back to her and they began to walk, skirting the outer edges of the evergreen woods. Lucrecia' mind scrambled realizing if she wanted to talk to him, now would be the time.

"We need to talk about last night." Lucrecia suddenly blurted out. Vincent glanced over at her and nodded.

"What is there to be discussed?"

Lucrecia swallowed. "I wanted to make sure we were on the same page about _'thing' _last night I certainly think there is something there and if there is, it would be of our best interest to explore that in detail."

Vincent fought a smile that teased at his face. Lucrecia was normally quite apt with her words, but for some reason she seemed almost clumsy as though she were trying to throw stones that were too large and cumbersome.

"Of course. Is there something specifically you are concerned about?"

Lucrecia folded her arms signaling a sense of discomfort. _'I just don't want this to be a flash in a pan. I want something more._' "I just worried about mixing our duties with our desires...whatever what those maybe."

"I could not agree more. But I scarcely see this as something we really need to spend much time discussing. Whatever boundaries you set, I will respect."

Lucrecia's eyes flickered to the darkening boughs of the trees. _'Will you hold to your word or are you giving me lip service?' _She looked back at him and found his eyes were serious, no flicker of mischievousness or malice_. 'Blessed! You are serious.'_

"Thank you." Was all she could say. Lucrecia caught the brief flash of Vincent's understated smile. In the distance, she could hear the town's children laughter followed by the barking of a dog. As they walked around toward the mansion, it quickly cut off the sounds from town. All that was left were the fading echoes of bird songs and crickets.

Lucrecia played with the handle on the kit. "Since when did you think it was proper to call me by my first name?" She goaded.

Vincent stopped at and glanced at her. "If you prefer otherwise, I will call you doctor." His lack of emotional response almost made seem he never recognized her attempt at humor.

Lucrecia smiled to herself. "I would rather you leave formalities in the lab. And while we are on the subject of names all I know is your last name. I assume you do have a first name?"

He was silent for a moment, as though he was giving it some thought.

"And don't tell me that's confidential as well." Lucrecia quickly added.

"No, I was going to say if I told you, I would have to shoot you."

She frowned. "That's not very funny."

Vincent sighed, taking note of his error. "I agree." He admitted in defeat. _'It sounded amusing in my head, but I suppose I could say that about a lot of things.'_ He continued to walk while Lucrecia remained standing in the middle of the deer path they walked along. Vincent stopped. "The name's Valentine, Vincent Valentine." He threw casually over his shoulder.

Lucrecia could not help but to roll her eyes. _'Gees, I just hope he doesn't start with the cheesy one liners.'_ They continued on their way. She could not help but to think about his name. _'A suiting name for him, I suppose. A proper name for a mannered man perchance?' _She walked up and once with him began once again walk. Taking the opportunity, Lucrecia reached out and grabbed his hand. At first he hesitated in his step thinking it was a signal for him to stop, but when he turned he found it was on the contrary. The young scientist looked at him and then to their hands and squeezed. He glanced at her and merely squeezed her hand in return.

Vincent watched the dark canopy of the woods as they walked. It was though something or rather someone was watching them. He hated the feeling of being watched. Part of him could not help but feel exposed. _'I am supposed to be the one doing the watching, not the one being watched.' _His eyes peered at the shadows hoping to find any hint of presence, but found nothing. Even the sudden silence of the forest added to his disquieted comfort of their situation. Pausing, he dropped Lucrecia's hand and stepped closer to the thickening cluster of trees.

Finding the encroaching darkness only inhibited his senses; he turned back to his female companion. Vincent found she also sensed something, her blue eyes scanning the woods, but he wondered how much of it was because of his behavior.

Placing an arm around Lucrecia's shoulder, he gently moved her away. She glanced over her shoulder and could not help but wonder what he was worried about. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as her eyes hung on the trees. _'Is there actually something in there?'_ Blinking, Lucrecia turned her attention away and followed Vincent's lead.

"Should I shoot, sir?"

One of the soldiers dropped his binoculars down.

"Hold your fire. They seem to be leaving."

The rifle's nose dropped down. "Are you sure sir? The man _is _armed."

"Do you know who they are? That woman is Gast's assistant. Hojo would certainly have your ass on a platter if you shot her."

The soldier lowered his gun.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 

He needed more proof. Hojo sat back in the wooden chair and gave his scrawling notes a cursory glance before removing his glasses. _'I need to recreate that rabbit.'_ However, he knew that the probability of this happening was not in his favor.

Scowling, Hojo pushed the notebook underneath another sack of papers. _'If there is no reason for the Turk to snoop, all the better.'_ His eyes settled on the faded yellow envelope package that arrived several weeks ago. Finding he had to eventually open the package, he withdrew a letter opener from the desk drawer and slid the dull blade along the crease of the package. He reached in and slipped out a small bundle of papers with a typed letter attached on the front.

Seeing the University seal on the front made him flinch. He knew that the semester would begin shortly. They expected him be in Midgar in two days. Snorting, Hojo quickly thumbed through the class lists and the request form that he needed fill out for his next set for the teaching assistants. Normally he took the time to select the most ambitious and brown nosing student he could find to the fill position. _'Less chance of them actually backing out when I have them teach for the class. Those classes are such a terrible waste of my time and energy. Mindless, snot nosed students always whining about low test scores and exam dates. I might as well be a babysitter!'_

This year, he was able to retain the two TA's he had from the previous year. _'All I have to do is show my face, give out a syllabus and be rid of that whole lot.' _Hojo smirked realizing he would back at the main labs for a short time with out Gast or the Turk. "_That will give me a chance to pick up a few things to further my research out in this godforsaken hole of a town. And it would be a moment without having that meddling toad breathing down my neck.'_

Tossing the lists aside, he glanced at his wristwatch and smirked. Turning his desk lamp off, Hojo crept past down the hallway and out the front door. It was time to check on his white furred specimen.

"He's what?" Hojo pursed his lips in response to the soldier's hurried report.

"Sir, the rabbit got loose and were not able to track it down, sir." The shin-ra soldier swallowed, his face drawn pale.

Hojo peered at him while clenching his fists verging on the motion of throttling the soldier. "You imbecile!" Hojo suddenly calmed as he eyed the soldier. "I assume you have found a more then satisfactory replacement for my work?"

The second soldier stepped forward and saluted. "Sir, we have collected several animals that seem to offer suitable replacements."

Hojo's dark eyes shifted to the young, armed man. Taking it as a queue, Hojo was led to the area where the cages were kept. Instead of seeing the normal collection of wildlife, he found a small bear and several stray dogs.

"I hardly see this as anything _resembling_ a suitable substitute." Hojo looked over the animals in distaste. "I would hate to make a report back at the security department that there had been a terrible mishap with two of their guards."

The soldiers saluted with renewed vigor. "Sssir! The specimen will be recovered, sir!" The second solider stuttered.

Hojo gave the soldier studied look." If not, I have two perfect replacements. I pray that you do not have a problem with small places."

The soldiers looked at each other and swallowed. They saluted and disappeared into the woods. Feeling a mild sense satisfaction, he turned his attention back at the dogs. They were obviously neglected and homeless. Hojo smiled.

"You might be suitable for the experiment. Dogs tend to be the most obedient, after all." He squatted down and examined the canine with a critical eye. "If the President can have his dogs in blue suits, I see no reason why I shouldn't have the same."

The dog whimpered and growled as it backed against the side of the cage.

"How are you doing, Honestas?"

Lucrecia focused the microscope as Gast stood looking over her shoulder.

"I have almost completed the slide test, sir."

"I didn't ask for a test." His voice tinged with confusion. Lucrecia turned the smaller of the two focus wheels.

"This is a task that Dr. Hojo had me perform for some blood samples." Sighing, Lucrecia pulled back and jotted down a few number down on test form. "I am not quite sure myself, Professor. He just told me it was not of my concern." She sat back and shook her head. "I just assumed it had to do with his research on Jenova's DNA code."

Gast rubbed at his mustache mechanically. "I will be sure to ask him about that later when he returns from Midgar. I pity his students." Gast remained silent for a moment, seeming almost miles away. Lucrecia watched him, waiting for further instruction.

"Ah, yes the reason I came over here. I thought you would be interested in this." Gast gestured Lucrecia to follow him. Leaving Hojo's assigned work, she followed the professor back to his desk.

"I was reading through an old ethnographical text on known Cetran rituals and found this." Lucrecia looked down at the open book and where Gast had placed his finger. She looked the passage and then as Gast. She had spent a great deal of time trying to understand the complex and often enigmatic hieroglyphic language of the Cetrans. However she was not able to have the grasping understanding as Professor Gast did.

"I can't read Cetran, sir."

Gast chuckled. "Forgive me, I tend to get a little carried away. This paragraph roughly says this," Gast held up his finger in emphasis, "Paraphrased mind you, that thinking they would receive strength and knowledge of the past ancestors, warriors and priests would grind up Mako crystals into a powder and consume it."

Lucrecia pulled back. "Consuming materia? I am curious to know if they lasted long after the ritual. That had been very hard on their bodies." She uttered. The thought of the little crystal fragments tearing up the stomach and intestines caused her to shudder mentally.

Gast sighed." This is why I brought this up to you, Honestas. Since you specialize in Mako exposure, that you might be able to help find out if Jenova had been exposed to this ritual."

Lucrecia slipped her hands into her lab coat pockets. "That I am not sure we could do that. Mako crystals have a different chemical signature and lifespan then Mako in its liquid and vaporous form. Though I do know those who have had previous expose will be predisposed to a quicker reaction to it then one who had not previous exposure."

Gast's eyes dropped down to the book. "Then make it so, Honestas. I would like you to outline an experiment in how we would test Jenova."

Lucrecia merely nodded and left his office.

Lucrecia twirled the flower around between her fingers. The late summer evening was pleasantly mild. She had spent most of the day outlining and researching different methods of detecting radiation exposure, especially over long period of time. As Lucrecia suspected, she found little to aid her. She knew that it was time now to put some of her theories to work.

"You seem quiet, is there something wrong?" Vincent asked. Lucrecia looked up and smile.

"Just thinking. I am not quite sure how to go about developing a way to test Jenova whether she ate materia or not."

The turk's eyes remained focused off in the distance. "Good, I hoped you were not too upset with how the poke game went this evening."

Lucrecia looked over at him. She then shook her head, unsure how to respond to his often-dry humor. "So? I owe you lunch whenever we return to Midgar." She finally threw off casually trying to mock his usually detached tone. Eventually her eyes drifted back to the yellow flower. "Just don't forget you owe me dinner."

Vincent allowed a brief passage of a grin. "I am a man of my word, am I not?"

Lucrecia continued to play with the flower. "And this coming from a turk?"

"Touché."

Lucrecia continued to play with the flower.

"You like pepperoni and sausage? I know of this little pizza place off of third. Excellent deep dish."

"Pizza sounds fine."

Lucrecia smile. "Good, then it is settled. I think by the time I am done with project I will be ready for some pizza." She paused and then smirked. "Oh unless you are interested in Wutuai?" She added.

"I think pizza is a fine idea." Vincent shifted letting his arms rest on his knees. The turk looked up at the sky in time to see several geese fly over head toward the river outside of town. Hearing laugher, Lucrecia turned in time to duck out of the way from a wayward soccer ball as it flew past and landed a short distance away. Several boys came running up.

"Sorry ma'am, we didn't see you..." Their eyes drifted over to the man seated next to Lucrecia and the gun holster. One of the boys shifted on his feet while staring at the ground. "Really sorry."

Lucrecia came to her feet and walked over to the ball. "Simple physics, boys. You kick the ball in the direction you want it to go and apply enough force, but not too much." She picked up the ball and tossed it to them.

Thanking her, they ran back toward the other side of the field near the backside of the town. Lucrecia turned and found Vincent had already come to his feet, dusting off his pants.

"You handled that nicer then I would have." He muttered.

Lucrecia looked around. "I doubt shooting the ball would have been very effective."

_'I wasn't thinking about shooting the ball.'_ But he thought better of it then to voice that reply. Nevertheless, he could not help but to admire Lucrecia's kind nature, even though she selective of who saw that. He turned his attention back to the mansion and sighed.

**Author's note**: _Believe or not, there are professors who make their TA teach._ I am not necessarily happy with this chapter. _Though it is about par for the course. I mostly wanted to get Hojo's character set up a little more and set up some either items that will be occurring a ways down the story._


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 ---------------------- Project 54 Report Number 26 

_After several tests (see Report Number 25), it was found that when Jenvoa's cells were exposed to minimal amounts of Mako, the cells began mitosis, but do not show signs of mutation. It is unclear at this time why this is the case, but further experiments will follow to explore this_.

Project 54 Report Number 27 

_...Because of Jenova's exponential improvement twenty-four hours prior to initial Mako exposure(minimum five percent concentration), it has come to Professor Gast's attention on how to improve the current methods of Jenova's preservation. He has proposed that Jenova's body be moved to the Nibel reactor for continued storage and research. Monitoring equipment will be sent from Midgar for continued observation. This will be in the future interest in not only the study of Jenova, but also insuring her preservation_.

-----------------------

Lucrecia sighed as she stared out of the window. The surrounding trees had begun their annual color change from green to amber and yellow. The town's children ran around with ribbons and festival toys they had acquired from various games and contests. Once a year, Nibelheim celebrated their apple harvest with various foods and great liberations of hard cider. The oblong red and pink fruit dominated even the inn food.

Glancing down at her bedroom desk, she eyed the large reports and could only feel exhaustion. After several long nights, she completed the reports Gast needed to send to Midgar. Shinra was generous, but also expected feedback upon a finger snap. Not following through bode for unsavory consequences.

Removing her reading glasses, she rubbed at her nose bridge. _'I really ought to fix those silly thing before I chuck them into the trash.'_ The sun had already sunk behind the Nibels, leaving the town in its dark ominous shadow. Lucrecia closed her eyes allowing them to rest from staring at the report text and the blaring green of the computer font.

"Honestas? May I have a moment?"

Lucrecia lifted her head recognizing Gast's voice.

"But of course, Professor, you have my undivided attention." She turned as Gast took a seat in the spare chair.

"I wanted to talk to you before I talked to anyone else. I have been keeping close correspondences with Ifalna..."

Lucrecia sat back. "The botanist right?"

Gast nodded. "It still eludes me how that woman can write so much about lichens. It's like studying dirt. People are so much more interesting..."

"And complicated." Lucrecia added. "Sorry, Professor, what is it you wish to discuss?"

Gast glanced at the door and then back at her. Sensing his discomfort about the open door, Lucreca got up and shut it. Gast removed his glasses and began to clean them with the edge of his black shirt. "She insists she has information I need to see…and well since the project is so far ahead of schedule, I feel I could afford the trip."

Lucrecia crossed her arms. "So will the project be closed down while you are gone?"

Gast held his glasses up and inspected them. "That would be a waste of time and resources and honestly we could not afford such a luxury. I was actually hoping I could place you in charge while I was gone."

His assistant blinked. Did she hear him correctly? "Professor? You want me to head your project?"

"What? Is there reason I shouldn't?"

Lucrecia's eyes dropped. "What about Dr. Hojo?"

"What about him? He is here for strictly observation and to assist when needs be." Gast placed his glassed back on.

Lucrecia swallowed bowing her head in respect. "I am honored, sir."

Gast dropped his hands on his knees. "Good. I will make a memo for Shinra and let them know of the operation changes for this winter. I plan to only be gone for a couple of months, but knowing artic weather...that could change." Gast stood up and straightened his lab coat. "And don't worry about Hojo," He winked. "I will take care of him." Gast walked toward the closed door and paused.

"There was something else I needed to say..." He stood there thinking for a moment. "Eh, must have not been important." Gast opened the door and left Lucrecia's room.

Gast left Lucrecia room and returned to the basement lab. Pushing the door open, he found Hojo hunched over several sample jars.

"Hojo."

The man paused hearing his name. "What is it you want, Gast?"

The professor approached. "I thought I would make it plain that I am going to place Honestas in charge of the project for a brief while."

Hojo's movement paused. "What is the reason for this?" He replaced the jar lid and placed the sample back into the inventory box.

"I am going to pursue some additional research concerning Jenova." Gast removed his glasses and inspected the lenses. Either the lenses were deteriorating or his vision was changing again.

Hojo fought a smile. "How long do you think you will be away?" The thought of the professor being away brought an almost overwhelming sense of relief. Maybe now he could have a little more control of his environment. '_Perhaps he will take that dog with him.'_

Gast replaced his glasses. "I expect only a couple of weeks. A month at the most." Gast was not wholly comfortable with lying, but when it concerned Hojo, he did not want him to grow too complacent in his absence. Many other projects fell to pieces because one left Hojo unrestrained.

"Very well, Professor." Hojo fought the curl that pulled at the edge of his mouth.

Gast watched Hojo for a moment before returning to his desk that was nested back in the book stacks. The lab fell silent except for the humming sound of the ventilation system and the additional computer equipment Hojo had brought back from Midgar. Removing a small notepad from his lab coat pocket, he glanced over his notes. There were several dates and tally marks. It had been a month since he had last checked Hojo stood up and went upstairs. It was time for him to make another check.

Using the end of his pencil, Hojo pushed aside some of the trash in the small bathroom wastebasket.

"Doctor, did you lose something?"

Hojo did not bother to look over at the Turk. Instead, he slowly straightened and placed the pencil in his lab coat pocket. Giving a hard stare at the Turk, Hojo walked past him and left the bathroom. As he walked, he removed a small notepad from his pocket and jotted down a date a few words before replacing it back into his pocket.

Vincent watched the scientist disappear into the shadows of the mansion. His brown eyes shifted back to the basket where Hojo was bent over. Part of him demanded that he take a look to find out what the man was been looking. He glanced over and shook his head. _'I've shifted through too much dumpster debris to stoop to digging through bathroom trash.'_ Vincent sighed as approached the basket and looked down. _'I am not paid enough to do this.'_

-----------

The image of the private plane quickly faded from view as it rose above the low laying clouds. The late morning sun struggled to break though the thick fall weather.

Lucrecia rolled the lab keys around her fingers, her thought lost in the glimmer from the morning light hitting the hard metal surface. She could still hear the loud hum of the small research plane that came to pick up the Professor. It many ways, she was going to miss the presence of her mentor, but he had entrusted her with his project in his absence. In her pocket lay a piece of paper with Gast's correspondence address in which she could send reports and letters. Then there was another name and address. She had heard the name mentioned once or twice, but was told if something came up and needed help, she was to contact Bugenhagen. However, Lucrecia was confident that it would not be necessary to use that emergency contact. What could possibly happen that the Turk could not take care of?

"Doctor?"

Hearing her name, she blinked and turned to the voice. Vincent stood looking at her. Realizing the landing pad was empty except for the two of them, Lucrecia nodded and began to make their way back to the mansion. There was more then enough work for her to attend to.

**Author's Note:** _Sorry if this seems like a skimpy chapter, I was not quite sure how to treat the small details for this section. It was not worth the time to dally on minor matters, not that Gast leaving is minor. Not necessarily a chapter I am proud of, but hopefully the chapters after this will make up for this._


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 

Returning to the lab, Lucrecia found it empty. Ever since Jenova had been relocated to the Nibel Reactor, Hojo has spent almost every waking hour up there. Lucrecia speculated he would claim that new monitoring system would need further inspection to make sure it functioned within dictated parameters.

Lucrecia gave the lab a quick glance before passing the book stacks and entering Gast's office. Hojo was a hard man to work with and everyone knew this. While people were most certainly willing to bend over backwards to assist Gast, Hojo was avoided. Not that she could blame them only because she even felt like the scientist was repelling her. '_Probably got along better with his rats then he did with people.'_

Lucrecia found herself standing in front of Gast's now vacant desk and work area. He had tried to bring some order, but only managed to stack some of the books and files. Looking around and finding herself alone, Lucrecia crept around to the desk chair and pulled it out. No one sat in Gast's chair, mostly because he was usually there working. Feeling a slight twinge of mischief, she sat down. At first she felt stiff and out of place until she let her hands rest on the chair arms while she relaxed against the back. Pushing with one of her feet, she spun the chair around until she was looking at the seemingly endless bookshelves. _'I could get to like this.'_ Lucrecia swung around and kicked her feet up on the edge of the desk. She smiled feeling herself sink into the large leather desk chair.

"Doctor?"

Hearing someone's voice, Lucrecia jerked out of the chair and to her feet. She found Vincent standing at the entrance of the room. Lucrecia blushed briefly having been caught.

"I hope you will neglect to mention that in your report, Mr. Valentine."

He gave her a blank expression. "I saw nothing."

Lucrecia mindlessly began to shuffle and stack stuff on the desk attempting to appear busy. "I don't think I have anything that requires your attention at this time." She kept her eyes down striving to ignore the fact they were the only ones in the lab. The thought only made her feel giddy and caused the blood to rush to her cheeks. Her hands paused as she tried to keep her composure.

"Very well, I will be at my post if my services are needed."

She listened has his feet pounded across the carpet and then hit the aging wood floors. Lucrecia sighed. No matter how many times they had spent alone together, she still felt uneasy. It seemed too natural, too easy for him to switch between the solemn, cold Turk and the kinder man she knew during the evening.

Vincent paused just outside of the doorway and sighed. He knew Lucrecia was feeling uncomfortable, but for what reason, he was unsure. The Turk allowed himself to grin briefly. _'I bet it was that night before last. I suppose we kissed a little too long and we were a little too close...'_ Vincent mulled over the recent event_. '… What we did could be considered by my colleagues as "making out". However, I would rather call it "personal exploration" since what happened is not as base as would be implied.'_

His eyes drifted to the dark corner where Jenova one rested, but now sat empty. He was curious to know what Hojo was actually up to at the Reactor. _'But I am one person and Gast made it a point that he wanted me to keep an eye out on his assistant in addition to my original orders to watch Hojo. I wonder what he was concerned about with it came to Dr. Honestas? She is a very capable and intelligent woman. What possibly would offer him mild concern? ...But then again, this is his project that he is leaving in her hands. It would only be his right to make sure nothing happened to her, since it anything happened to her, it would happen to the project.'_

The Turk approached one of the tables with the lab equipment. Hearing some rustling, he turned only to hear the high pitched sound of Lucrecia's computer powering up followed by the echoing sounds of computer keys on the keyboard.

Realizing there was little for him to do in the lab, Vincent decided to make his rounds above and around the mansion grounds outside. _'I never thought I would even consider this. I would not mind if Frank was hanging around. If anyone knew how to blow time, it would be him._ ' Vincent continued his thoughts. '_He's a good man, means well, but tends to be a bit over amorous. Probably should not introduce him to Lucrecia. She would be to handle him well…though I think I should be worried about him handling her. She was worried about getting caught with her feet on the desk, leave it to Frank, she would find herself on the desk.'_

Now Frank was one of Vincent's seniors among the Turks. He was a short, stocky man with dark hair and dark skin. When he was not with Vincent, Frank was with his other partner who was only known as Sam. It was claimed that everyone had seen Sam, but never knew it.

_Vincent had already sat down at the normal game table with several other Turks he often played poker with. He sipped at his cold drink as the new round of cards began to be dealt out. That is when he heard a name Vincent had not wanted to hear._

_"Hey Frank! Long time no see. How's life?"_

_Vincent automatically wanted to slide down underneath the table. There was some brief laughter before Frank stood by the table holding a clear bottle._

_"Hey Bean sprout! Didn't think I would find you here." Frank dropped the bottle down between him and his younger partner. Vincent winced and initially attempted to ignore the man. However with the bright red tie and violent yellow collared shirt, it was hard not to ignore the man. "Looks like no one's sitting here." Frank pulled up a chair next to Vincent._

_Vincent tried not to groan. Frank glanced over and clapped Vincent's shoulder. 'Ah c'mon! I just got here." He gestured to the dealer to throw over some cards. Because of Frank's jovial nature, everyone tended to like the man, especially when he brought boozes. Grabbing a couple of small shot glasses, he poured a small amount into each glass. "A little treat from Costa. Would have brought the other, but she wouldn't fit into a suitcase as well as a bottle does."_

_Everyone laughed while Vincent only wanted to shrink from existence. Frank slid the shot glass over. "Drink it, Bean sprout." Frank looked at the Turk's bare face. "It'll put some hair on ya!"_

_Vincent looked over at his superior and forces a smile. "The name is Vincent and I don't care to drink, sir."_

_Frank looked at his cards. "What? Not man enough just handle one drink, Bean sprout?"_

Suddenly Vincent felt everyone's eyes settle on him. 'He is not going to stop until I do.' He admitted in defeat. Taking the glass, he threw the contents back and coughed as the cactus juice burned all the way down. The table cheered. Frank poured a little more into Vincent's glass.

Vincent paused at infront of the tall set of paned windows and frowned. He recalled the following morning waking up below the apartment fire escape with a red tie wrapped around his head while he was missing his black one. _'And that is why I do not care to drink. I end up somewhere unfamiliar and wearing someone else's tie.'_

----------

Gast sat back in the plane seat as he looked out the window and down at the clouds and the ground that occasional peeked from behind. He felt anxious, but he was not sure it was whether he was meeting an old colleague after several years or that he left his pet project behind. _'No, it is fine. I could have not place the project in more capable hands._' His thoughts were interrupted by the static of an intercom.

"Professor, we have just received word from Icicle that a storm front has moved in. We will be landing in South Coast."

"Not that I could say otherwise." Gast stated. The pilot smiled and flicked several switches as they changed their course. The professor relaxed in his seat knowing it would be another couple of hours before they landed. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to sleep while the clouds and occasional peaks of the ocean whirl by below.

It was a couple hours before they landed at a small coastal village known as South Coast. Shouldering his backpack and secondary bag, he looked around and frowned. The season change had made itself apparent with the heavy fog that had begun to move in from the ocean.

"Gast?"

Recognizing the female voice, the professor turned and paused seeing a woman materialize from the heavy, ground hugging fog. Her dark auburn hair fell around her face and then down her back. She wore a heavy coat with a puffy, red down vest and a lavender high collar long sleeved shirt layered underneath.

"Ifalna?"

She nodded and approached Gast. "When I saw the storm moving in, I knew they would land here, so I hopped over as fast as I could. I pray you were not waiting too long."

"This must be some important news for me if it caused you to move this fast." Gast commented as Ifalna led him away from the small plane. A small, mud spattered jeep came into view. Ifalna turned the two securing knobs and opened the rear door window then held her hand out for his gear. Gast looked around before letting his hazel eyes settle on the jeep. "It's almost been two years since I have even been close to the excavation site. It will be good to see it again."

Ifalna paused before forcing a soft smile. "Of course, Professor. But we will see what can be done. I cannot make any promises." Once Gast's bags were in, she closed the rear jeep window and walked over to the driver's side while Gast lingered at the bumper of the old military style vehicle. Defined frown lines formed as he read a bumper message. Ifalna paused at the driver side door.

_'I like lichens._' Gast rubbed at his mustache_. 'How appropriate_.' Snorting out of amusement, he walked over to the passenger side and climbed inside. Ifalna was well known for her work with sub-artic flora, especially the rare Blue glacier moss and Northern yellow lichen.

"It's been far too long, Professor." Ifalna stated as the jeep hummed to life. Gripping the gear stick, she threw the vehicle into first gear and began the slow journey up to what the research team named "Bone Village".

"The roads have been blocked by several recent mudslides making it impossible to get in and out for the excavation site by vehicle. If you wish to look, we will need to hike in by foot."

Gast glanced at her and then to the winding, unpaved road ahead. Something whimpering from behind caught his attention. Turning around, he was met in the face by a large dark, wet nose. Gast blinked for a second looking at the nose before the dog began to pant and beat it's tail against the seat. Ifalna glanced up at her rear view mirror and smiled.

"Now behave yourself for our guest." The dog glanced over at her before looked back at the professor. The dog finally lay back down on the back seat.

Ifalna switched gears. "He found me a while back when I was at camp. He is such a sweet dog and apparently had no where else to go or a family who misses him."

Gast settled back in his seat. "Good, it is well that you have something like that with you."

Ifalna smirked briefly. "Did I just hear something resembling protectiveness in your voice?" She teased.

Gast looked at her and snorted. "No, just logic. Work up near the glacier is treacherous and isolating." The professor fell quiet. "What is his name?"

Ifalna smirked. "Alexander the Great, but everyone calls him Al for short."

Gast chuckled. "That is quite a name."

The jeep slowed as the road grew steeper and muddier. "That is often said before mediocre men become great."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19 

-----------------

Clasping his hands behind his back, Hojo leaned forward and squinted at the body as it floated in the liquid Mako solution. The large monitor beeped loudly tracking temperature and solution concentration while another monitored any movement or change on the body itself. Jenova had shown nothing but improvement since Gast had her placed in the reactor almost a month ago.

Hojo smirked. It was not readily thought that Mako could have regenerative properties. Normally it was death with overexposure, mutation and inerrable brain damage. Though it was the first time Mako had been introduced to a dead body in such a way. _'And I will make sure my name is on every report. Gast may have found and made the initial studies on the body, but I will do more then throw words around. I will make history.'_

The scientist shuffled over to another monitor that beeped rhythmically as Jenova's. Instead of Jenova's body, there was male body floating in the Mako. The initial injection had prevented the normal problems that occurred with Mako, but the male specimen had fallen into coma like state not long after the Jenova injections and Mako exposure.

Removing a small notebook from his lab coat, he scribbled down the current vital signs and numbers that computer displayed in bright red numbers. _'This certainly does seem promising. Very promising.' _Hojo walked back over to Jenova and played with several of the large panel buttons when the second monitor screamed. Running over, Hojo found the heart rate had flat lined as well as all other organ functions. The body thrashed for a moment before returning to its original limp position. The specimen was dead. In response to the high-pitched bleat, Hojo's other specimens began to bark and wail wilding. Hojo clenched his jaw and turned his head in the direction of the canines. Seeing him, the dogs quieted.

"Better." Rubbing at his temple, he knelt down infront of the access panel and removed the cover. Reaching inside, he pulled at several wires until on finally cut off the monitor wail. Hojo closed his eyes in relief. Standing up and looked at the dead body that remained suspending in the mako and then back the silent monitor.

Frustrated, Hojo kicked at the equipment in anger. He could not afford to begin from scratch. Trying the first man was too risky as it were. _'Maybe I am going about this wrong._' Hojo thought in a moment of silence. He looked at the body and rubbed at his hands as the cool air chilled his skin. _'Jenova seems to have returned to life, so perhaps I should try to perform this with a specimen in a similar state.' _His dark eyes slid up to the floating dead body. _'And you thought I would let you rest, didn't you? I am not quite done with my research, my friend._'

Ifalna sat down at the small folding table that served as her desk. Turning on the long arm lamp, she moved it over near to where she had been working on studying rock lichens. Pulling out a worn, dirt smudged notebooks, she wrote down several observations and stopped. Her eyes drifted over at the lichens. _'Did they just talk to me?'_

It has not been the first time she had heard something similar. Once it was a rock, then a tree and for a brief time a small creek that snaked toward the ocean. They also talked the same way if one would call it "talk". It was more like a radio signal or feeling. Following along with the impulse, she drew the lamplight over the lichens. She could almost feel a sigh of relief.

_'Strange, it seems almost more clearly then normal. I always thought it was some sort of medicine-induced delirium my great grandmother went through. Maybe there is truth about "talking earth". Though it seems more like talking moss for me._'

One the far corner was a picture of her mother, grandmother and great mother. She had lost her father when she was young. The men seemed to have carried a debilitating genetic disease that left them twisted and crippled by their 30's and eventually die not too long after it. Sadder yet, one does not know if they have it until the major symptoms become apparent. By then, it was usually too late to do anything.

That same disease believed to have only carried by the men took her mother's life. Ifalna could not wonder if she carried that gene as well. _'I suppose it is worthless worrying about it.'_

A cold wet nose came and rubbed itself against her elbow. Ifalna looked down and found Alexander sitting next to her wagging his tail. The dog then placed his head on her lap. Ifalna smiled and rubbed his tawny head.

"Hello darlin'."

The dog's eyes looked up at her and he wagged his tail harder.

"Alexander, where did you go...?" Gast ducked under the tent flap and stopped. The dog looked over and barked at him. Ifalna smiled and stood up.

"Don't worry about losing the dog, Al tends to have his own schedule of where he goes and who he visits."

Gast crossed his arms. "I can see that." He looked around before talking again. "The crew is about to break for lunch and I was wondering if you would…like something eat. You don't have to eat me or anything, I just thought I would let you know." Gast fumbled. Seeking a distraction, he looked at the boxes of soil and lithic samples lined along the tent wall.

Ifalna walked up and placed her hand on his arm. "I would be honored to have lunch with you. Not that I am a big fan of chilly, but I could certainly use some company." She winked.

Gast kept his eyes adverted as he looked over the boxes. "Are these the samples from the dig?"

Ifalna picked up one of the sample bags. "No, these are from the crater. Several of the men made a trip up there to do some survey work. Unfortunately, one only made it back." Ifalna walked over to another box and dropped into a squatted next to it. "Now these are the samples from the most recent excavations. It would best to look over these after we had some food. Would you not agree, Alexander?"

The dog barked in response and thumped his tail against the ground.

Vincent sat quietly at the normal table that was used at the pub, but this time was waiting for Lucrecia. She had given him to go away to save their table while she finished up one minor thing in the lab. He sat quietly with his drink as he watched as the main door opened a medium height woman and a small child walked in. For a moment, the two almost reminded him of Frank's "family". Looking closer, it was more the little boy then anything.

_Looking at his watch, Vincent looked up at the large lit sign with a large red dragon encircling the words "The red dragon". Walking past the dark tinted doors, the Turk was greeted by a waiter left briefly to set up a table. Vincent stood back and observed the dark and semi-quiet restaurant. Not necessarily one of his most favorite places to eat, but it offered a change from the frozen meals that sat waiting for him at has his apartment._

_"Oh hey Bean sprout!"_

_Vincent winced at the nickname that Frank used far too often. Trying to fight the desire to slip back outside, he looked up and found the man waving from one of the booths. Knowing there was no way of retreating, Vincent grudgingly moved around the tables and diners until he reached the booth in the far corner. Vincent stopped and the table. He had thought it was just Frank, but found a woman sitting across from him a little boy next her._

_"Oh, you have company, perhaps we can talk another time. I don't want to intrude." Vincent offered hoping he could it as an excuse. Frank shook his head._

_"Nah, it would be fine if you joined us. It ain't intimate or anything."_

_The woman sitting across from him looked up at Vincent and smiled. "Are you one of Frank's co-workers by chance?"_

_Vincent nodded. "I am."_

_The boy sitting next to her held up a small stuff monkey. "I got a monkey today!"_

_Vincent looked at the little boy and nodded. The child smiled, his dark curls hung low over his eyes and around his ears. Vincent could only guess that it was Frank's son._

_"Well, just don't stand there, have a seat bean sprout." _

_Vincent nodded and pulled up a spare chair to the table._

_"Hi, my name is Anna." The woman held out her hand and Vincent met it. Anna smiled and relaxed against the bench back. Her brown hair was cut in a casual bob style while long, string like earrings dangled down to her shoulders. "And this is my son, Eric."_

_The little boy at the mention of his name perked up. "Hi! What's your name? You like monkeys? I got to see monkeys at the zoo today. And elephants and birds. And you know what? I got see tiger babies..."_

_Anna placed a finger over his mouth. "You are being rude Eric. Let the man answer your question." She looked up at Vincent. "You will have to excuse my son, he is still wound up from today."_

_Vincent nodded. "No worries. My name is Mr. Valentine."_

_Eric smiled. "Hello Mr. Valtine. You look contipated."_

_The Turk blinked. "Contipated?"_

_The boy nodded. "Yeah, that means you can't go poo."_

_Frank and Anna looked at Eric. Frank leaned over the table. "Eric, it's constipated"_

_"Frank." Anna scolded. The man rolled his eyes and sat back down. "Don't encourage him."_

_"I wasn't. I was simply correcting the kid." _

_Anna frowned in response. Vincent remained silent as the two talked briefly while the little boy began to color on a piece of white paper with some color crayons. A waiter approached the group and began taking orders for drinks and meals. Vincent watched the young boy squirm and squiggled in his seat, sometimes talking to himself as he colored._

_"Bean sprout, did you mean the newbie today?"_

_Vincent looked at his glass of water in thought. "Perhaps. Which one did you have in mind?"_

_"Vey."_

_Vincent blinked. 'The bubble headed ding-dong?' His eyes drifted to the kid who was watching them reminding himself he was in polite company. "The exuberant woman?"_

_Frank pushed up at his shirtsleeves. "Yeah, we will be testing some equipment tomorrow."_

_Picking up his glass, Vincent took a drink. 'This will be interesting.'_

_"Hey mister bean sprout?"_

_Vincent felt the impulse to hit his head on the table now hearing Frank's son repeating the nickname. _

_"Do you stay up late to play? My parents do it all the time and make me go to bed early. And then they make this giggling sound and I have hard time trying to sleep, that's when..." Frank shoved a bread roll into Eric's mouth. The boy was shocked and finding he liked it, began to eat. After a moment, Eric set the roll down. _

_"Mommy, I need to go to the bathroom." The kid squirmed around. Anna took his head and walked him to the back of the restaurant and toward a small hallway. "Can I go back to the zoo tomorrow? I want to see the big dead eating birds! They were so cool. And when they get real close, the get sick on the ground and fly away..." His voice could still be heard even when they reached the restroom door._

_Vincent sighed. "I never want children. I doubt I would have the patience to put up with that. Does he never shut up?"_

_Frank played with his water glass. "He's not too bad. I swear he doesn't even stop talking in his sleep." The two fell silent._

_Vincent smirked. "So you and Anna...married?"_

_Frank gave him a blank looked and then laughed rubbing at his neck. "Oh no, no! It's just that well Eric came along and I kinda like him and Anna's pretty cool. So I hang around and help out."_

_"I see." Vincent took a drink. 'I suppose Frank isn't too bad. Though I doubt I would not make the same decision if I were in his position. This profession is not family friendly.'_


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20 

**------------------**

Hojo tapped his pencil impatiently as he waited on hold. He snarled as he checked his watch. _'Who do they think they are thinking they can put me on hold like this. I have a great deal to get down. Imbeciles! They are nothing but bumbling lab monkeys.'_ He thumbed mindlessly through the small calendar planner and paused on one day that was circled with a red pen.

The wait music suddenly cut off followed by a distant male voice.

"Sorry to keep you waiting sir, how can I help you?"

The pencil paused in mid-motion. "You can start by doing your job. Common courtesy."

There was a brief pause before the voice continued. "What is the equipment and supplies you request, Dr. Hojo?"

Hojo twirled the pencil. "I need A.I. bovine equipment."

There was a typing sound. "Level one, two or three?"

"Three, you dolt. They don't have any other ones other then actually using the real bull." Hojo sighed. "I need it ASAP."

There was more typing. "Sir, what is the reason for breeding equipment? I thought you were studying a Cetran."

Hojo pursed his lips all the while the pencil circled around between his nimble, long fingers. "That is confidential. Get it here."

There was another pause. "The equipment will arrive a week from today."

Hojo nearly broke the pencil in two. "This experiment is time sensitive! I must have that equipment within two days. And I will do what is needed to get here with the utmost speed."

The voice wavered. "Of course, sir. The order has been set and will be sent out tomorrow."

Hojo snarled. "Today."

There was more typing. "It will be shipped today." His grip on the pencil relaxed.

"Excellent. That is what I want to hear."

"Is there anything else I can do for you sir?"

Hojo could hear the man's voice tremble, but not enough to affect the overall conversation if one would consider any discussion with Hojo a conversation.

"And whatever we normally order for supplies. One can never be too cautious."

There was more typing in the background. "Anything else, sir?"

Hojo placed the pencil down. Suddenly he felt he needed to end his call. "That will be all." Hojo hung up and dialed another number. Once the other end answered, he hung up as he looked up at the partially opened door.

"I know you are there Mr.Velincia." Hojo slapped the calendar shut.

"It's Valentine, sir."

Hojo stood up and approached the open door where the Turk stood. Hojo peered at the blue suited man with scrutiny.

"Do you think I really care?" He pushed past Vincent and made his way toward the lab. Curious what Hojo was up to, he entered the small office and looked at the phone. Picking up the receiver, he hit the redial.

"Papa's Pizza Palace, how can we dish it to you?"

Vincent frowned. '_Hojo was calling a pizza place? There is not a place like that out here.' _He knew that could not be right.

"Sorry, wrong number." Vincent hung up confused. The only thing he could figure is that Hojo was covering up the initial call and redial only works with the last immediate call made.

As promised by the lab tech back at the Shinra research lab, the equipment arrived via copter along with other more mundane household supplies. Taking care to carry the large black suitcase like box, Hojo quickly made his way back to the laboratory. The past two nights, DNA models and formulas whirled around within the darkest depths of his mind. He would have preferred a less intrusive approach in producing his specimen, but during his genetic research he found he had a probability of trouble with Jenova's DNA.

Taking in account how old Jenova's DNA, it's age made the structure fragile and unstable. If one tried to replicate the genes without consideration to the deteriorated state two things would take place: one would that the structure would eventually collapse on itself or that the specimen would grow into a mishap of shallow genetics. Variation was key to having a strong, solid genetics. By adding variation, or fresh blood, as some would crudely say, would help stabilize the ancient DNA. With both the introduction of Hojo's genetics as well as that of Lucrecia's would give that very diversity that would strength Jenova's code and make it possible to clone.

Hojo looked around before he entered his room and closed the door. He opened the case and examined the equipment with a certain sense of pleasure. His promotion, fame and fortune were just with a few months reach. He just hoped that it would only take one try. Normally such a procedure required multiple treatments, but Hojo knew he could not afford that concerning the unwillingness of the carrier. He had to get this right the first time since there would be no next time. Closing and locking the case, he slipped it underneath the bed and removed another case, much smaller in size. Inside was arrangements of bottles were filled with either liquids, powders and pills. Selecting one bottle, he slipped it into his lab coat. That would make sure there was no complaint from the carrier.

Finding everything silent in the mansion, Hojo crept down the stairs. He had made sure the Turk was well asleep. He could not afford interference at this stage of the project. Reaching the entrance doors, Hojo unlocked them and found the two Shinra soldiers waiting patiently outside.

"You're late." Hojo whispered harshly. The soldiers only nodded in response. "Just don't stand there, get in here." Once inside, Hojo closed the door and locked it. They stood waiting for their next set of orders. Pushing back his sleeve as he glanced at his wristwatch. "It's three now. We do not have much time. It's up the stairs and the second door on your right. Make sure she does not wake up. If that happens, I will have to remedy the situation. And I assure you, neither of you will care to see that." Hojo warned.

The soldiers saluted and in uniform movement, they crept up the stairs and disappeared past the second landing. Hojo rubbed his hands in anticipation. It was to begin.

Lucrecia woke up with a start finding her abdomen twisting itself into a familiar cramp. Sitting up in her bed, she found it was still dark outside with rain falling at a heavier rain then had been she had retired. Rubbing at her face, she turned on her bedside lamp and looked at the clock. Sighing, she got out of bed and fumbled through her desk drawer for a bottle of aspirin.

Once dressed, Lucrecia went down to the lab to find Hojo was already hard at work processing some of the samples that had been pulled recently. Filling her mug, she walked past him and into the stacks. Hojo allowed himself a brief smile as he looked through the microscope. With a foot, he made sure the case that held the probes and the catheter was well under his desk and out of sight.

"Good morning, Doctor."

Lucrecia looked up and found Vincent standing the entrance, his arms folded casually. Sighing, she rubbed at her eyes and then looked at her empty mug.

"I don't know if it is the weather, darkness or both, I just can't seem to wake up." _'Never mind I had the weirdest dream about being abducted by aliens. That is the last time I mix alcohol with coffee.'_ Lucrecia offered a friendly smile. "But of course you are not here to listen about that, are you Mr. Valentine?"

Vincent looked away briefly. "I am going to accompany Hojo up to the reactor today. I think it would in the best interest of the project that I do a simple inspection. This of course is dependant on your approval, Doctor."

Lucrecia sat back in the chair. "I am sure Hojo is not aware of your intent, is he?"

Vincent offered only a brief flicker of mischief. "Not yet."

Lucrecia shook her head. "Good. I would come myself, but as you see, I kinda have a stack of work that seems only to grow bigger." Her eyes glanced over the stacks of files and books.

Vincent turned his back. "Indeed. If there is not anything else, I will excuse myself and prepare." The Turk paused at the entrance between the towering bookshelves before entering the lab former.

-------------

Rolling the needle between his fingers, he looked down at the two soldiers who lay strapped to the tables in the back storage room of the reactor. Still under the heavy hold of the anesthetics, Hojo prepared the first Jenova injections. Writing down the amount of cell solution in cc's, Hojo approached the first on and slid the hypodermic needle into the large vein on the inside of the elbow. Hojo smirked as he emptied the needle. Tapping another needle, he repeated his ritual and injected the second solider with the same amount of cell solution. His experiment suddenly halted upon hearing unusual noses coming from the canine cages. Cursing, Hojo set his work down and picked up his flashlight and left the hidden backroom.

'I know the Turk left hours ago. I made sure of it. I thought it was a nice touch when Lucrecia decided to join us only to have a violent reaction to the Mako. Poor girl.'

Hojo shined the narrow beam of light on the row of cages where the dogs were kept. Everything seemed in order until he found two of the cages were twisted and destroyed. Rubbing at his chin in thought, he approached upon closer inspection. The bars and wire had been literarily chewed away leaving blood and fur behind as the only indication of how two of his specimens gained their freedom.

A shiver took over his body. Hearing something drop to the ground and echoing, Hojo spun around in time to flash the light into the dog's glowing eyes. The animal charged the scientist and threw Hojo the ground. His flashlight flew from his grip and clattered to the ground until the light rested on a far concrete wall.

Kicking at the dog, Hojo struggled to get away from the specimen. The mutated canine whimpered at the pain granting Hojo a moment window to get up off the floor and run. The dog's eyes flared as he growled at the scientist. Hojo cursed and ran toward the table where he had placed the soldier's hand pistols.

The dog snapped his teeth into the tail of coat and pulled the man down to the ground. Hojo rolled over in time to see the dark maul of the canine. Instinctively, he held up his arm in defense. The dog took and sunk his teeth. Hojo clenched his jaw and with his free hand and reached for a piece of pipe lying within reach. Grabbing it, he cracked it over the animal's head. The jaw's gripe on his arm loosened as it staggered back.

Grabbing one of the guns with his uninjured hand, he shot the animal repeatedly until it stopped moving.

Panting, he saw had already lost a great deal of blood. Using his lab coat, he wrapped it around his wound until he could reach the first aid kit.

Taking a brief break at a rock, Lucrecia placed her head into her hands and closed her eyes. 'What happened back there?' It hit so suddenly, she was not sure if there was something about the Mako, bad food or a little of both.

"Are you sure you are well? Do think you need to see the doctor?" Vincent inquired earnestly. Lucrecia looked up and offered a forced a smile.

"I am will be fine. I have not been feeling quite right all day and it may be that I trying to fight off some sort of sickness." Standing up, she quickly tested her knees and legs and found they had regained some of their initial strength.

Vincent was only partially convinced by her words, but he could he argue otherwise. Checking his gun, they continued their trek back to town from the reactor. It was a strange trip resulting only in Hojo being greatly irritated by their presence. Vincent failed to find anything weird. It was neither too clean nor too suspicious. It was, as it should seem. The Turk tried his hardest to find even the slightest thing out of place, but found nothing. Despite the appearance, Vincent could not shake the feeling that something was not quite right.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21 

------------------

Lucrecia sat back in the chair and closed her eyes. It was the third day she had felt the strong and often overwhelming nausea that she woke up with and sporadically reappeared throughout the day and into the evening. She knew it was not influenza, as that would normally have a different range of symptoms. _'Just give a moment and it will go away and I can get back to work.'_ However, the wave did not subside, but only grew strong. Her stomach gurgled and flopped in response. Knowing what would only be unavoidable, she slowly came to her feet and with as much dignity as she could muster, left the lab and began to climb the stairs using the guide rail to steady her shaking knees.

_'What else could this be? It's not a stomach bug, that much I know. It wasn't bad food, everyone else would be suffering similar symptoms.'_ Lucrecia paused in mid-step as her nausea was changing into something more. Swallowing, she could feel her throat tighten and a cold sweat formed on her brow. She knew her time was short and she had not reached the other set of stairs.

_'I need to keep my mind off my stomach. How about Jenova? What do I need to do next?_' Lucrecia finally reached the bedroom where Gast use to sleep and she stepped out into the hallway and took a deep breath. It seemed for a moment the nausea faded. Lucrecia almost smiled. Suddenly her stomach lurched. Running as fast as she could, Lucrecia flew down the staircase and toward the only bathroom in the mansion. She did not give any thought of the possibility that it might be in use.

Vincent stepped out of the bathroom just as Lucrecia stumbled past him and slammed the door behind her. He blinked and first looked from where she had come from and then to the shut door. Concerned, he leaned against the door and winced at what he heard inside. He knocked on the door.

"Are you alright, Doctor?"

He only heard her retching in response. Vincent sighed and walked away. _'I suppose that nixes coffee this morning and perhaps lunch.'_

After a while, Lucrecia entered the lab seeming a little pallid. Vincent gave a quick look of concern. She only gave him a brief hand signal not to press the question and disappeared behind the books.

"Are you sure you are up to it?" Vincent questioned as they walked over to the pub to catch some dinner. Lucrecia sighed.

"What makes you think otherwise?"

Vincent toyed with the thought of retelling what she sounded like in the bathroom and thought it better not to say anything. Once there, he opened the door and ushered her inside. Lucrecia froze as she was bombarded by the heavy smells of cigarette smoke, sweat, grease and cooking meat. Overwhelmed and nauseated, she turned around and went back outside. Puzzled, he followed her.

Lucrecia forced herself to take several deep breaths.

"Had that place always smell that bad?" She finally asked.

Vincent rubbed at his jaw. "Somewhat, but it never seemed to bother you before."

Lucrecia remained silent as she slipped her hands into her pockets trying not to shiver in the cold evening air. "I think there might be a Mako leak in the mansion."

Vincent blinked. "Mako leak? What do you mean by that?"

Lucrecia kicked at the ground. "I cannot make any other sensible explanation of my sickness then Mako. Once one has been exposed before, they are more sensitive to it from there after."

"You were exposed before?"

Lucrecia shook her head. "It is built up. Several experiments here, Jenova there, it all adds up over time, Vincent."

He folded his arms and leaned closer to her. "So what are you going to do about it? Has Hojo mentioned any symptoms?"

Lucrecia snorted. "That little miserable rat of a man would not admit symptoms of the black plague until he his dying breath. I doubt he would give any heed to slight Mako exposure." Lucrecia fell silent for a moment. "The work I am doing now does not require me to work in the lab or the mansion for that matter. Just for the sake of my general health, I am going to relocate my living arrangements here at the inn."

Vincent's eyes drifted up at the cloud-covered sky. "If that is what will make you happy."

Lucrecia grinned. "Are you afraid that you will be left all alone with Hojo?"

The Turk glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. "I fear nothing."

Lucrecia almost laughed.

-------

Vincent held end of the gun barrel to Lucrecia's forehead. Her blue eyes focused on his face ignoring his gun. She made no attempt to plead or beg, nor were there tears She was just stood there staring at him. Her lips moved and at first he could not understand what she was saying. Though the second time, it became painfully clear.

_"Do it." He heard her words and as she closed her eyes, he pulled the trigger._

Vincent shot upright from a sound sleep, his pulse racing and cold sweat beading at the bottom of his lip. He reached up and rubbed his face and raked his dark hair away from his face. He initially felt terrified and then it faded into nausea. It was not the first time he had that dream, nor he figured it would be the last.

The Turk knew he had a serious dilemma on his hands. Normally those he disposed off he never knew or even saw their faces. And if by chance he did, those faces were locked permanently away in the little white box in the back of his mind. The thought of locking Lucrecia in that box created that sense of an almost stifling fear. He did not want to lock her away and forget everything. And yet if he kept her, it would be worse then to forget.

His worse fear had come into blaring reality; he had become too attached to the scientist. So much that he fought hard to keep his personal interest separate from business. There was only one thing that he could do and he knew it would cause him a great deal of pain to do, but it had to be done. _'I care for her too much to let this continue.'_

-------

"Doctor, here are the reports you requested." Vincent held the stack of lab reports and waited for her response.

Lucrecia hurriedly shoved a small long purple box underneath several papers. There was no need for him to know about her current problem. She turned around and stood up.

"Lucrecia, is everything well? You look a little... off."

Lucrecia's eyes shifted away from his face for a moment before returning again. "I'm fine. I just stayed up a little too late last night, that is all." Lucrecia thumbed through the papers.

Vincent watched her as she began to turn away and for a brief moment, he saw her bite her lip.

It had been several hours since the Vincent had been by to drop off the reports. Despite the quiet, she found it hard to focus. Her mind kept reeling about the red plus sign she saw several mornings ago.

Lucrecia paused writing when she heard someone knocking on her door. Getting up, she opened the door and peeked around. 'Why would Vincent be coming now?' Instead of seeing the Turk, she found Hojo standing infront of her. _'Oh shi...'_

"Dr. Hojo?"

He held a small file under one arm while he looked at her. "Hope I am not disturbing anything." Though his tone was far from being kind.

"I was just finishing up a report I will be sending to Gast."

"Good, I need to meet with you about a few things." He walked past her and entered the inn room within giving Lucrecia a chance to decline. Sighing, she shut the door. He approached the table and set the file down.

"We need to make a decision about Jenova."

Lucrecia hung back and looked at the man. _'I am sure you meant "I" when you said that. Why are you here anyways? If you want to do something, you normally do it behind my back.'_

Sensing her skepticism, he bowed his head briefly. "I thought I would try to be courteous and involve you as Gast would insist." Hojo almost spat when he ever mentioned Gast. "I am going to begin replication of Jenova's DNA." Hojo was not keen on sharing his work with her, but if he wanted to gain her trust, he had to make a sacrifice. After briefly going over some of the details, she seemed to relax a little. _'Good, good my little mouse, I am not going to hurt you.' _

While she read over the work, he excused himself and went into her bathroom. Once inside, he looked around for anything that would tell him of the status of his specimen. He opened the door underneath the sink and the medicine cabinet, but found nothing that would indicate a pregnancy. That is when he found a towel and something underneath it. There was a small purple box with an image of a white stick and a plus and minus sign. He found the box was empty. _'Excellent.'_ Tucking the box into his lab coat pocket, he flushed the toilet and turned on the facet briefly before leaving.

He paused in the doorway and watched Lucrecia for a moment. He had to abide his words with caution.

"Is everything well, Honestas?"

She looked up and frowned. "Why does everyone keep on asking me this? I am fine, Doctor."

He walked closer holding a grave expression on his face. She watched him with reserved suspicion.

"I am sure this is none of my business, but it could concern the productivity of this project." He reached into his pocket and produced the purple box. Lucrecia's eyes went wide in shock. She snatched it from him and removed it from his sight. "It was sitting on the counter. Is there something going on between you and the Turk...?"

Lucrecia's jaw was locked in both fear and anger. "You are right, this is no of your business." She stated in defense.

Hojo crossed his arms. "Then it is the Turk. Do you think he will take you news lightly?"

Lucrecia crumbled in the box in her hand. "We did no such thing!" She fought the tears that threaten to fall. Lucrecia could not avoid anymore she was terrified and pregnant. It was not the conception itself, but how it came to be that scared her. She not had any sexual relation with a man, especially not now.

Hojo pulled up a chair and sat down. "Honestas?"

She kept her eyes on the floor. "I believe this will not interfere with the project. So don't worry about that."

Hojo tried to look at her face. "I doubt that. You know what could happen if you were exposed to any amount of Mako? Jenova is stored in the reactor."

Lucrecia almost felt insulted by his tone, but he did have a point. Hojo sensed he had to keep moving.

"It seems this rather awkward, so I would not worry too much about how this happened, but what you are going to do now, Honestas. Now I am willing to help you and work around your…situation. However, I fear the Turk may not be so forgiving."

Lucrecia's eyes shot up. "And what are you implying?"

Hojo rested his arms on his knees. "Come now, I know you are more intelligent then that, or at least I would hope. Turks are Turks. They are simply trained to be subordinate machines that follow orders without question. He would see you pregnancy as a hindrance to the project. I hold a measure of caution when he finds out, and he will in time."

Lucrecia's eyes drifted down as she swallowed. 'Why am I listening to this man?' Her mind reeled until she finally came to a logical conclusion and she did not like much. ' _Because you know that what he says is true._'

"So? What are you going to do, Honestas?"

"I don't know, Doctor. Maybe when Gast returns, I will see about taking some leave time or something."

Hojo kept the frown on his face. "If you think that will help?"

Lucrecia snarled. "Well, do you have any better ideas?"

Hojo looked around acting unsure. "I have known some to consider abortion."

Lucrerica swallowed feeling the blood rushing from her face. "Do you think Mr. Valentine would suggest that?"

Hojo shrugged and stood up. "I will leave the report here for you to review. I will expect a response in a day, Honestas." The scientist turned and left Lucrecia. She still clenched the box in her hand.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22 

_Walking into the office room, Lucrecia looked at the phone before finally sitting down and picked up the receiver. When she went to dial up the number, she did not hear a ring tone or any sound to indicate the phone even worked. She hit the receiver button several times and found it still did not work. 'Odd. I know this phone worked several days ago.'_

_Getting down on her hands and knees, she checked and found the phone was still plugged into the wall jack. Coming back to her feet, she went to the window and found the rain had not relented in its onslaught. There were rumors of a hard winter was expected by the locals. 'That is the last thing I wanted to hear.'_

A month had already gone by since Gast had left and she had yet to hear anything back from the Professor. She knew though that in time, she would receive something to indicate he still existed. Gunfire broke outside followed by screams. Returning to the window, she looked out and could not see what was going on. All Lucrecia could hear was the cacophony of panic that rose from the town parameter.

_Against her own best judgment, she left the small office to the front door of the mansion. Instinct drove her to step outside into the icy rain and past the gates where she found several men and a dead child laying in the rain. A few feet away laid an animal. A woman came running out and fell down over the child. The two men looked over at Lucrecia and frowned._

_"Look at what your research has done!" The man gestured to the body of the child. The second man walked over to where the animal laid and kicked at it._

_"This is the strangest dog I have ever seen, Guy! Come and look."_

_The first man who at addressed Lucrecia snarled. "I don't care, it's a monster all the same. We have lived peacefully for many years without such creatures, and now they back. Ever since those Shinra people came there has been some strange stuff."_

_Everyone looked up at her. Lucrecia swallowed._

_"Maybe the Shirna people brought these things with them."_

_"Yeah"._

_Lucrecia's eyes drifted to the carcass and lingered. For a moment she swore she saw it's eyes glow violently red._

"Doctor?"

Lucrecia jerked out of her sleep and looked up to find Vincent stand at the front of the desk with his hand on her shoulder. Blinking she sat up and shook her head.

"I must have fallen asleep."

Vincent stood back and crossed his arms. "Apparently."

Lucrecia looked around trying swiftly to reorient herself. Ever since the night she had seen the fight out in the town square from the Inn window, Lucrecia had suffered from mild, repeating dreams, always focusing on the strange beast she never quite saw in whole. She just remembered the glowing red eyes.

"I still have some work to be done here, Mr. Valentine. Why don't you check back then?"

Vincent nodded and left Lucrecia to return to her work.

Hojo watched her move. Lucrecia shifted from the microscope to the other table where the spare trays and slides sat. _'Conception is a strange thing. Any more all you really need is a donor and a place for it to grow.'_ He would know soon enough, in a week or so. When that time came, he would be ready. Hojo glanced back down at his notebook that was filled with dates, numbers and records explaining both. _'I cannot afford another attempt. I could do it if it required, but the risk of her knowing would be increased tremendously. I doubt that will really be the issue just as long as the specimen is produced with the adequate amount of genetic variation required.'_

Hojo's thoughts stopped when the Turk entered the lab still wearing his heavy black overcoat. _'That is the issue I need to attend to. He could destroy everything with a single trigger pull. I can't have that prodding Shinra dog do that.'_

Lucrecia looked up and acknowledged the Turk's presence. "Just a moment, Mr. Valentine, I am just about ready. I need to finish writing this down." She continued to scribble down the notes.

Vincent turned to Hojo in time to catch the man glaring at him. "Sir?"

Hojo frowned and looked away. "Tell me that you have figured out what is going on with the monsters."

Vincent pulled out his black leather gloves from his pocket. "Nothing yet, sir."

Hojo snorted as though he had expected the response.

Lucrecia gathered up her folders and notes and followed after the Turk. She could not help but feel a pair of eyes watching her back as she left.

"I was hoping that I could talk to you." Vincent voiced from the doorway as Lucrecia set the reports down on the large, round table.

"Sure, we can talk." Lucrecia went to pull out the spare chair, but he stopped her.

"I was hoping we could go outside, if you don't mind. It looks like you could use the fresh air."

Lucrecia blinked and nodded. _'What is he up to?_'

The sky was cleared up, allowing the sun to come through to warm the chilled, muddy ground. Mist rose up from the roofs and streets creating an almost surreal feeling. Lucrecia pulled tighter at her scarf as the cool air flushed any skin was the exposed to the air.

"The weather seems to be rather agreeable today." Lucrecia stated as she kept her hands into her pockets trying to keep them warm.

"Indeed." He seemed almost reserved despite the casual stride he walked with in his overcoat and suit.

They walked around until they reached the edge of town. "Remember how we would go out into the field and watch the sunsets? I really like that. It would be nice to go out there, but now..." Lucrecia offered with a tint of reminiscence. In the distance a dark shadow appeared in the faded grass before disappearing into the trees. One could only assume it was yet another monster that traversed the surrounding landscape.

"I know." He stood silent for a moment before mustering the courage to look at her. He turned and touched her face with his gloved hand. _'I have to do this. I don't want to, Lucrecia, but it is the best I can do for the both of us._' Vincent's hand linger as he looked at her face. Lucrecia smiled and then frowned seeing something darkening in his face.

"What's wrong?" She managed to ask. Lucrecia pulled her hands from her pockets and pulled his hand from his face. He held her bare hands behind his.

"We can't do this anymore, Lucrecia."

She blinked. "Wha? What are you talking about?"

Vincent's brown eyes looked away. " Don't be foolish. You know what I am talking about. We're too close, moving too fast. I fear if we continue, we will both struggle to do our jobs." His eyes drifted back at her. "It wouldn't be fair to you." Vincent fell silent. _'I love you too much to let this continue right now.'_

Lucrecia searched his face trying to understand. It was then her face drained of color upon the realization of what he might be implying. Vincent was after all, a Turk. They were to protect the research secrets of Shinra, at any cost. Lucrecia frowned.

"You want to be able to kill me?"

Vincent blinked. Somehow their conversation was not going as well as he had hoped. He opened his mouth briefly but found nothing came out at first. Lucrecia pulled her hands away.

"They want to kill me?" She took a step away. Vincent shook his head.

"No, no! I have not been given orders to do such a thing..." He desperately tried to rescue the deteriorating situation, but it seemed it was too late.

Lucrecia closed her eyes as tried to fight the tears. "But you want to be able to do that if you had too..." Vincent tried to approach her and she waved him away. "Don't move! Don't touch me!" Pushing past him, she ran back toward the inn nearly in tears. Normally rejection of that sort only made her mildly upset, but this was bringing on the entire range of emotion including crying. _'Maybe Hojo was right...'_

Vincent stood watching her run away. He allowed his head to drop. The warmth of the sunlight quickly faded as high clouds moved in slowly reclaiming the sky.

Climbing the stairs back to her room, she froze to find someone waiting near her door, seated on a simple wooden chair. Snuffling, she tried to wipe away the moisture at her eyes and face. The man looked up and frowned.

"Why Dr. Honestas, what is wrong?" Hojo stood up and straightened his coat. He carried a small item in his hands as he approached.

"Nothing, sir." Lucrecia mustered up enough strength to offer a smile. "What brings you here?"

Hojo held out the small plastic case that often carried samples. "You ran off so quickly, you forgot this."

Confused, Lucrecia received the case. "Thank you." _'I think._' She looked it over with a large amount of reservation.

"Those are the tissue samples from Jenova mutations. Jenova has been changing, but it is uncertain whether it is will lead to improvement or deterioration." Hojo offered.

Lucrecia looked at the case and sighed. She was still puzzled by Hojo's change in character. Part of her wondered what he wanted while other offered the simple saying that people change_. 'But Hojo has always been the cold, egotistical, miserable man. The only thing he had love for was his research, and even then it seemed he even hated that.'_

She walked past him and unlocked her door. "And, thank you, Doctor. I can take it from here."

Hojo stood silent for a moment. "The Turk has been bothering you again, hasn't he?"

Lucrecia paused in the doorway. "If there isn't anything else, Doctor?"

Hojo's mind raced trying to find another excuse before he was shut out. His little mouse was going to get away again. He reached out and placed his hand on her elbow. She froze.

"I may not be Gast." Hojo fought the habit of spitting the man's name while his words suddenly felt clumsy as he fumbled for the right phrase that might appeal to her. "But I offer my counsel and my shoulder if you need it."

Lucrecia bit her lips in frustration. She was growing more confused by the moment. Vincent claimed to care for her and yet pushed her away and the man she thought harbored so much contempt offered her comfort. Who could she trust anymore? What if Hojo was right about the Turk? Maybe Vincent is just playing games on her as he may have done with every other girl he has met with it.

_'We're too close, moving too fast. I fear if we continue, we will both struggle to do our jobs._' His words hung so hallowed and empty in her ears and yet stung as though they were filled with venom. _'What would he know what would and would not affect my work?'_

Seeing her defenses had suddenly fallen, Hojo took the intuitive and turned her around so Lucrecia's face could be seen. _'I cannot believe I am going to do this.'_ He placed his arms stiffly around her shoulders. At first he expected resistance, but she did not reject him. _'Ah, there is trouble in paradise huh? This will make my work much easier if you two are apart. Why else would you not fight this?'_ Hojo struggled to think what else to do since he was no accustom to such situations. He moved his hand and patted her shoulder.

He glanced up past Lucrecia's head to see someone stopped at the top of the stairs. Hojo smiled at the Turk before returning his attention to Gast's assistant.

Vincent stood watching them stand in the hallway hugging. Just moments before she had been on the verge of hitting him and now it seemed she found another who offered the affection he had once gave her. ' _Of all people, why Hojo? I thought you despised him, Lucrecia. The way you spoke of him...'_ Vincent looked down at his shoes. He could not help but to feel that he started it all by pushing her away.

_'Perhaps this is for the best. I know she will be safe and out of harm, never mind it is with Hojo._' It was foolish of him to chase after especially after what he had told her outside. He brought this upon himself. Disgusted and broken hearted, Vincent turned and walked back down the stairs. _'If she is happy then... I don't mind.'_

_-------------------_

**Author's note**: _Yes, this is first of the required scenes in the story. You must forgive me for changing the location of where Lucrecia and Hojo are found holding each other. It did not make much sense to have them out in the open with how I have everything set up. It made a little more sense to place it near her room. I pray you will forgive me for that._


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23 

Lucrecia placed the letter into the mailbox for the outgoing mail with hopes that Gast would receive her correspondence. Never would she know that half of what she sent out would only make it to Hojo's trashcan. Lucrecia had already sent out four and had yet to receive even one letter in return.

Sighing, she looked up at the stairs before her. It she working probably her third month of pregnancy with only mild changes, but it would not be too long before she would begin to show. If the situation was not bad enough, both the monsters now that stalked the outskirts of town as well as the early season snow that had begun to fall had cut off communication outside of the town. Since that one day, Vincent had not spoken to her other then the normal courteousness of "Good morning", "Good evening" and "Is that all, Doctor?" All he seemed to be now was a dark sentry that stood in the darkest corners of the lab and picking off monsters from the mansion walls. It seemed to be bent on keeping himself preoccupied with anything, especially establishing communication outside of town. That much was obvious.

"Dr. Honestas?"

She blinked realizing the innkeeper was addressing her. "Yes?"

The woman leaned over the counter. "Will you going out today by chance?" She took note of Lucrecia's heavy sweater worn under her lab coat.

"I need to go to the mansion to do some work. Will you let Mr. Valentine know that I am there if he drops by?"

"Of course, ma'am. Be careful."

Lucrecia offered a confident smile before opening the door and stepped out into the snow. She made sure that travel was quick not even lingering to watch the snow fall to the ground. The snow fell to the ground in almost a fairy tale fashion, but Lucrecia could not help but the feel the creeping foreboding that rode in with the cold. In the distance she could hear gunshot echo erratically. She could not help but to think about the strange animals the crawled out from the mountain passes and woods around the base of the Nibels. Pulling at her lab coat in the response of the cold, she ran down the path to the mansion.

Focusing the crosshairs of his scope, he waited for the dog to make the next move. It sat silently behind a half-barren bush.

_'C'mon mutt. You can't sit there forever.'_ Suddenly, it burst from its position and began racing toward the Turk. Startled, Vincent pulled the trigger, but his shot only grazed the shoulders of the beast. Cursing, he fumbled with another bullet, trying quickly to reload the gun. Vincent glanced up and found the mutated dog would be on him before he could fire.

Tossing his rifle to the side, he drew out his pistol and began to fire in rapid repetition. It was only after he empty his clip he found the beast was only a foot away from him, now laying in it's own gore. Pitching the empty clip, he quickly reloaded his gun before approaching the canine for further investigation. _'That was too close. They seem to be moving faster and growing more aggressive.'_

Vincent posed his gun readied over the dog as he approached and found the animal was very much dead. He found aggression and speed was not the only thing different, the dogs seemed to also to be larger then several weeks before. _'What on earth is going on here?'_

_Finally, he focused his crosshairs of his rifle on the blue car that sat a distance away. Vincent and senior partner had spent the past two months tracking the contact. It became apparent that someone within Shinra was leaking confidential weapon information to a rival company. Just who that was, Vincent was about to find._

_"9 o'clock sharp, Bean sprout." Frank's voice whispered through the earpiece the sniper wore in his ear. Vincent winced at the pet name that Frank favored. Glanced back, he briefly to saw Frank still sitting in the back car, binoculars in hand.. _

_Vincent looked back through the scope and froze. Another car pulled up and a man stepped out. Vincent's eyes went wide when he saw whom it was._

_"I have the mole in view." Vincent muttered._

_It was none other then one of their own, a Turk. Harris worked specifically in the lab research department. Vincent began to suspect him after catching talking a blonde woman outside of the lounge. Sure, there were classy women that lingered there, but she seemed a little out of place. The clincher was when she slipped something into his breast pocket of his jacket when they kissed._

_'Oh this could be some trouble.' Vincent watched the two men converse and then casually, Harris, the man with unmistakable short cut brown hair and black suit gestured toward where Vincent was hidden behind a cluster of trees high on a cliff. Vincent cursed and knew he could not wait a moment more and pulled the trigger._

_The car was suddenly exploded into a massive fireball and black smoke. Frank charged past him with gun drawn and slip slid down the steep cliff face to the flaming car below. Vincent sighed and began to disassemble his gun and ran over to the car. He quickly slipped into the driver's seat and turned the engine over. It was not long before Frank opened the passenger side door and dropped down into the bucket seat. _

_"You didn't mention that was Harris." He flopped the man's wallet and id out on the dashboard._

_"I suspected it was him for a while." Vincent pressed the gas pedal and began their way back to the road._

_"It's too bad. Harris was a bright guy. So much for Secret Agent Cetran man." Frank sat back and relaxed._

_It was an on going joke among the departments that because of Harris's unusual talents for information and retention, he seemed nothing more then an ancient, or at least one of the many stereotypes._

_"That was too close." Vincent finally muttered, reaching up and brushing his hair back. Fran glanced over at his junior partner and smirked._

_"I would have thought you would think to set up a littler further away from the target."_

_Vincent scowled. "That is not what I meant, sir."_

_Frank shook his head and crossed his arms. "Ah, loosen up, Bean sprout. You should appreciate the experience. You know, not everyone has the pleasure to work with me."_

_'And I can see why.' Vincent kept his eyes on the road. If he knew only one thing, he knew that whenever he went out on assignments with Frank, it always meant something was going to explode and they would be getting away by the skin of their teeth._

--------------

"Lucrecia, how much do you wish to perform your own private research?"

She looked up at Hojo who sat across from her. "Why do you ask?"

Hojo smirked. It was one of those smirks that often sent chills down one's spine. The laboratory's florescent lights reflected harshly off his round glasses.

"What if I could promise you that?"

Lucrecia glanced back down at the lab report. _'Promise it?'_ She looked back up at him.

"How would you do this, sir?"

Hojo leaned forward. "Jenova."

Lucrecia blinked. "What about Jenova? Gast promised me for taking watch over his project, he would give me the recommendation that need to earn my final credentials."

Hojo stood up and moved next to her. "I can give you more then just credentials. What if I could make this project yours?"

Lucrecia frowned and tried to move away. "But this is Gast's..."

Hojo placed a finger on her lips. "His project proposal simply stated it was exploratory research in the possibilities of Jenova being a Cetran and trying to recreate Cetran society." He removed his finger and smile. "But what I purpose is something more tangible instead of that anthropological mumbo jumbo. What if I offered you to help me recreate a Cetran?"

Lucrecia fell silent. _'Recreate a Cetran_?' Seeing her skepticism, Hojo shuffled over to where he kept his samples and brought several over to her. "I took some human skin cells and exposed them to Jenova." He first places the human cells under the scope and followed them with the Jenova cell mixture.

"Oh my god." Lucrecia uttered. The two sets of cells had merged, neither looking much different from the other.

"Introduction of Jenova cells would not only make one stronger, but in theory would quickly assimilate human cells into Cetran cells. _'Never mind the more advanced parts of the project require Mako, but I will not mention that now. I cannot afford to jeopardize the project in that way I will play her word games as long as it is necessary and effective._' " How about it, Doctor? You can be the first..." Hojo placed his hand on her arm. "The first to mother a Cetran in two thousand years." He let the silence hang uncomfortably in the air. "That is how I promise you the credentials and the ability to perform your own research. To have you dream after for so long. I can give you that. No one else..."

Lucrecia swallowed. "May I have time to think on this?"

Hojo smiled. "Nnnyes. Have all the time you need, but know that there is only a small window in which we can begin and end the Jenova treatment."

Lucrecia laid on her back with her hands resting casually over his belly. His face haunted her. He showed no emotion, no fear or anger, but just cold acceptance. _'They are trained to be obedient, subordinate Shinra dogs.'_ Hojo seemed to mutter that a lot every time she gave thought about the Turk.

When Vincent had found out about the project change, he approached her and Hojo. Hojo simply stated that Gast's project was being placed on hold and that what they were doing was separate from that arrangement.

In the beginning, Vincent appeared to be very upset. Though she could not help but to understand. That was the first time he learned of her pregnancy. It was something she never got to tell him. Lucrecia could still hear that she had hurt him a great deal in his voice when he protested. Now why he did not do what he had been trained as a Turk, she did not know. Maybe this is what he meant by getting too close to her. Not following through with his assignment carried a weightier consequence if she were to err. Lucrecia could not help but the see the image of a bucket of cement being filled with Vincent's feet in it. '_But that is the stuff of movies, not of fact. Or is it?' _

That however did not satisfy the question of why if he could not dispose of her why not dispose of Hojo?

_'I'm against it! Why experiments on humans?'_ He demanded. She had kept her eyes down the entire time. Somehow, she could not help but to feel ashamed of the sacrifice she was willing to make to steady her career. She also felt scared. Hojo on the other hand was more then willing to defend his precious project.

_'She and I are both scientists!'_

Despite the lame excuse Hojo gave, Vincent merely nodded his face suddenly vacant of the emotion that only there moments previously. She had looked up in time to catch a brief flicker of Vincent's dark eyes just as he turned and left the lab. That was end of the issue.

Despite Hojo's reassurance that he was only trying to help, she could not help but to feel she had been led blindly into the witch's oven.

Lying with her head still reeling for the day, her hand unconscious began to rub at her belly. _'Did I make the right choice? It's too late now, I suppose.' _She could still feel the sting of the beginning injection_. ' Only if Gast were here...'_

-----------

"By the way, have you heard back from your assistant?" Ifalna asked as she refilled Gast's cup. He sighed and shook his head. It had seemed like eons since he had last spoken to his assistant. In reality it was only a few months. Months long then had initially intended. Gast however did know of the risks of coming up to the Northern Continent so late in the season.

Yet, the greatest thing he had seen was not the artifacts, but what Ifalna had brought with her. It about the size of a large glass marble, white with Cetran hieroglyphics carved into the crystalline surface. She claimed it was passed down through her mother and her mother's mother and so on. Gast could not help but to get excited by the prospect that there were Cetrans living past the initial impact. Then again, it could have been found and somehow fallen into Ifalna's family hands. Realizing Ifalna had asked a question, he shook away his thoughts.

"Normally Dr. Honestas is very punctual about her reports."

She filled her teacup and placed the metal kettle down. "I am sure she is fine. Once the winter storms set in up here, we loose most if not all of our communication with the rest of the world."

Gast poured some cream into the cup. "Of course." '_At least the Turk is there to keep things in line.'_ "Some cream?"

"That would be lovely, Gast." Ifalna watched as the white liquid swirled around in the black tea. Despite the gas heater in the tent and the warm of the drink, their breaths came out in cold vapors. Taking a deep breath, Ifalna relaxed and enjoyed her company.

----------

"Just take a deep breathe, it will only hurt for a moment."

Lucrecia swallowed as Hojo prepared the hypodermic needle. She squinted trying to see how many cc's of the Jenova cell solution he was preparing to inject. Hojo placed the needle down on the metal surgical tray and picked up a small tape recorder.

"This is week 4, 3pm, second injection. I will be injecting 40 cc's into spec...patient 001." Pressing the red stop button, he placed the machine down and swept up the needle. Even though this was only the second injection, Lucrecia already had enough. Hojo glanced past her toward the entrance of the lab as the Turk was leaving the room. Smiling, he returned his attention back to his "patient".

Lucrecia forced herself to look away while he pressed the needle into her abdomen. Her hands clenched the chair arms in a passive effort to deal with the sharp pain.

"You are not breathing. I told you if you don't breath during this, you will pass out. Mmmkay?"

All she saw was the reflective glint of light of his glasses. She forced herself to exhale. Hojo merely snorted in response. Once the he emptied the needle, he withdrew and stood back. Lucrecia laid still forcing herself to take steady breathes; she knew what to expect this time.

The once sharp pain faded became a painful spot of heat. It then quickly spread to her legs and then to her feet. Before long it was rushing to her arms and face. And then it came. A series of cramps seized her body causing her to ball up into a fetal position in the chair.

Hojo picked up his recorded. "Specimen 001 is responding well to solution treatment. The side affects appear to be weaker then with the initial injection."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Lucrecia pushed herself out of the chair seeing the familiar green glow of Mako. "Wha, What is that doing here?"

Hojo tapped the needle and prepared for an injection. "What does it look like, Honestas? This is part of the treatment. It is proven that Jenova only grows stronger when in contact of Mako."

"I never agree to that. I even regret the Jenova injections."

Hojo gave her a scrutinizing glare. "I am very disappointed in you. I thought you wanted to keep your career. If you back out of this now, I doubt I will be able to protect your creditability infront of the department."

Lucrecia swallowed. "How much?"

Hojo looked at the needle. "Only 10 ccs with one percent of it being actual mako. The rest is Jenova cell solution."

Lucrecia found she did not have the courage or the ability to walk out the door. For all she knew, Hojo would turn Vincent against her at her attempt to leave.

"Honestly, Doctor, I do not know about this." Her pale hands squeezed the vinyl material of the chair. Hojo watched her for a moment and set the needle down. _'Damn, this is not boding well. I need to persuade her otherwise since this useless chatter is getting me nowhere.' _Hojo walked over to the sink and picked up a cup and poured a small amount of liquid into the bottom and then filled the glass with water.

"Here." He held the glass of water out to her.

Struck by his thoughtfulness, she accepted his drink and sipped at it. She paused and looked at the water. "This tastes a little odd..." She was unsure what was causing the water to taste a little off. Hojo hovered closer.

"It's winter and the water tables are a little heavy with minerals. And of course, this is an old house, Honestas."

Encouraged to drink more, she found the water soothing and helped to settle her quaking stomach. Once finished, she set the glass down and went to stand up and found her legs did not want to cooperate. Lucrecia blinked looking suddenly dazed. Hojo walked up offering concern and as he had timed he caught her just as she crumple under the sedative he slipped into her drink.

"This...is much better." Hojo groaned under her weight as he dragged her back to the seat and left her slumped to one side.

------------

"Lucrecia?" Vincent pushed past the door and at first it seemed the room was empty. On the large round table sat her work. His brown eyes scanned the room once more until he saw a chair tipped over on its side. Unconsciously, he reached for his gun thinking until he found her laying face down on the floor.

He ran over and knelt down next to her body. Vincent rolled her over to her back. He brushed her bangs back and found her face was warm, almost too warm while it seemed the rest of her body was cold.

"Hey, wake up." But she remained still. Swallowing, he fought the fear that seemed to quickly take over his body. For the first time, he did not know what to do or to say. "Please wake up..." He whispered. Lucrecia seemed too pale and strained. He reached over and grabbed one of her hands. Finding it cold, he held it tighter. Feeling Lucrecia's hand twitch so slightly, he looked back at her face and found there was some movement underneath her eyelids. Slowly, Lucrecia opened them. At first seemed almost panicked and then confused.

"How long have I been out?" She finally asked.

Vincent shook his head. "I found you face down on the floor."

Lucrecia slowly pushed herself up into a seated position and then touched her forehead. "I suppose I would find a more comfortable nap on a bed then the floor. I guess I didn't make it." She tried for a little humor despite the sense of horror of passing out. It seemed that the spells were not only becoming more frequent, but it seemed she was out longer. Lucrecia swallowed, her eyes hung on the image of the rug she laid on. "Vincent, I think I am in trouble." It took all of her strength to admit the gravity of her situation. She waited for him to either scold her or remain impassive as he had been for the past couple of months, but instead he gently placed his arms around her. Lucrecia slipped her arms around him and rested her chin and his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"All you needed to do was ask." Vincent murmured.

Lucrecia squeezed her eyes hard as a tear rolled free.

"I know."

She did not know how long they sat on the floor before Vincent pulled away and stood up. Helping Lucrecia to her feet, they walked over to one of the beds and he sat sat her down.

"You can't stay here." Vincent stated as he pulled a red blanket around her shoulders.

"Where? I can't go back to the mansion and then there is the snow..." Her voice trailed off as though she was already defeated. Vincent paced over to the window and pushed the curtains aside with a finger.

'_I'll carry you on my back if I have to. I can no longer turn a blind eye to all of this.' _"We will have to travel by chocobo."

Lucrecia searched her mind, trying to push past the fog that always seemed to hang over her thoughts. _'Where would we go? There is no way we could make to Midgar. I doubt I could make it if we even got a boat over.'_

"Didn't Gast mention he had a colleague in Cosmo Canyon? Someone who could help?" The Turk remained standing in front the window.

Lucrecia pulled at the blanket fighting a wave of chills that threatened to wash over her body. She knew it had to be the Mako that Hojo had injected into her. She knew how to deal with indirect and direct poisoning, but never once did she encounter anyone who had it in his or her blood, not like this. The hallucinations and the voices...

"Yes..." It could not help but to feel her voice felt so distant and weak.

"Are you well? You look like you are going to be sick." She looked up and found him standing infront of her. He bent down to her eye level and looked at her face. Lucrecia tried to swallow and found her mouth dry.

"Never felt better." She mustered a slight smile.

It seemed to give him a mild sense of comfort she was still there. "If anything, I could use some water."

Vincent nodded and left the room.

Lucrecia looked down at her feet and sigh. The thought leaving Nibelhiem brought both joy and fear. Fear that something could go wrong. _'I can't afford to be scared. If we need to travel, I will need my strength. I need to be strong.'_ She almost laughed. Strength was something that seemed to elude her anymore. She had almost tumbled down the stairs several times. Lucrecia moved her hand and touched her stomach. It gurgled once and then again. At first she feared it would be another adventure to the bathroom, but realized it was gurgling for a different reason.

'Good question, when was the last time I actually had something to eat. Must have been this morning; I had some crackers...Maybe I just need to eat something. The trick will be keeping it down.'

Lucrecia mused. She could almost hear her mother explain how hard her pregnancy was when she carried Lucrecia.

. _'I worried your father sick. Though it was certainly no picnic for me either. I suppose that is what I get for marrying a doctor. He always fussed over me, always trying to find something to help me keep my weight on and my food down.'_

The door opened and Vincent entered carrying a small tray. Standing up and she walked over to the large table and sat down in one of the chairs, all the while still clutching at the blanket. He had brought up a glass of water as well a small ceramic bowl from which wisps of steam rose. There were also a few wedges of fresh, crusty bread.

"Thought you could use something warm to eat." Vincent explained.

Lucrecia reached out and cradled the bowl in her hands. The warmth was welcome to her cold hands. Smiling, she closed her eyes and let the vapors rise to her cheeks. It was a simple broth soup consisting of a simple meat broth and a few root vegetables. Lucrecia wanted desperately to eat it, but hesitated briefly considering that the soup might not remain down long enough to make it worthwhile. Lifting up the bowl, she brought it to her lips and sipped. She remained quiet and waited. Seeing that it would stay continued to enjoy the soup.

She then stopped. Raising her eyes up, she found Vincent was still standing, watching her every move with his intense, dark eyes.

Lucrecia sighed and set the half emptied bowl. "Certainly I am alright for the moment. I think it would be perfectly fine if you sat down and quit watching me like that. You make me feel like... _' Like you're watching a caged animal...'_..Weird. Why don't you have something to eat?"

Vincent slowly took his seat next to her. "I do not have much of an appetite."

Lucrecia frowned.

Vincent shifted in his seat. "We will need to leave as soon as it is possible. If we travel hard, we can make it in a half-day." Not that he was thrilled about riding a chocobo. He hated them, but in the end he would be willing to do anything to help Lucrecia, which seemed to include him riding a chocobo down to Cosmo.

Lucrecia stared at the remnants of the soup at the bottom of the bowl. "I need something from the lab." She got up and went to the stack of files and notes and began to sort through them. "I need to treat myself before we leave. I don't know if it will work, but if I don't I doubt I can survive the trip." Lucrecia paused and closed her eyes as her vision slide to one side and her balance with it. After the dizzy spell passed, she withdrew the paper with the mako poisoning notes and handed it to the Turk. Looking it over, he then looked up at Lucrecia.

"I will return. I suggest you get ready and rest." He folded the paper and left the inn room.

Shivering, Lucrecia pulled at the blanket and turned on her side. Her eyes shot open in cold realization. Looking fervently, she found the clock and found the six hours had past since she had spoken to Vincent. She fought the panic that surged up her throat.

_'Maybe he is going to wait until morning. It is late and I doubt he wants to attempt night travel. I can't say I blame him.'_ She got up from the bed and walked over to the inn window and found it was snowing again. Lucrecia frowned as her hand drifted to her swelling belly.

Someone knocked twice on the door. Startled from her reverie, Lucrecia felt relief wash over her mind thinking it had to be the Turk returning for her. Rushing over to the door, she opened it and frowned. Instead of seeing a blue suit, she saw a white lab coat. She could not help but to be uttered dismayed by Hojo's presence.

"Were you expecting someone else, perhaps? You seem a little shocked."

Lucrecia's mouth opened momentarily only to have it shut. "Of course not."

Hojo looked past here. "Good, it's time for another treatment."

Swallowing, Lucrecia stepped away from the door. "I don't feel well." Her bright purple blue eyes shifted to the floor.

Hojo snorted. "Of course, but it would only get worse if you avoid another treatment." He reached out and slipped his hand around her arm and urged her away from the room. She took enough time to shut and lock the room before being led out of the inn and back to the mansion.

A bitter wind blew down from the mountains as the snow continued to fall making the existing blanket heavier and distant. It was now dark leaving only vague hazy shadows.

Hojo did not allow Lucrecia to leave his sight. It many ways she could sense a great deal of anger from the man, especially how his grip became more fierce and painful. She could not help but wonder at the extent of his man's hate for humanity.

They paused infront of the lab doors. Lucrecia wanted to know what happened to Vincent, but hesitated to bring up the subject around Hojo. Reaching into his lab coat pocket, he unlocked the side storage door. The cold, stagnant air suddenly hit Lucrecia. She could smell must and something else, like blood.

"I need to get something out of here first. Just wait right there." He gestured her to stand just within the doorway. Hojo went about rummaging through some boxes. Her eyes struggled to discern the darkness of the room until they settled on a strange, long box_. 'Is that a coffin?'_ But it was more then a plan wood box, but there were something like jewels attached along the outside. She moved closer to look at the green glowing stones. '_Those look like Mako crystals…'_

Hojo looked up and watched Lucrecia. He crossed his arms. "Those are Materia." Hojo's tone seemed to only mock her questioning expression.

She glanced up quizzically and stopped in mid-step. Hojo could not help but smirk. He was bound to teach her lesson for trying to disobey him and even trying to compromise his experiment. "Do you want to see what the Materia guards inside? It's something extra special."

Lucrecia swallowed, suddenly she wanted to run out of the room, but she knew Hojo would not let her until he was done with what he was planning. Hojo walked over to the box and removed the two latches the locked the lid. His hands paused.

"Come closer. You won't see anything back there."

Feeling she had to obey, she stepped forward until she within a hand's reach of the box. Seeing she was there, he threw back the lid. Lucrecia remained silent unsure what to make of the contents of the box. She clenched her fists forced herself to take deep breaths. _'That bastard! That horrible, terrible bastard!'_ Lucrecia clenched her jaw as she saw the very man that promised her safety lying inside with a bloody suit and pale face. At first it seemed the Vincent was merely sleeping, but with the blood stained closes and skin, it appeared it was a sleep from which he would never return.

Lucrecia turned away and closed her eyes. She was determined not to give the satisfaction of her tears to Hojo.

"What's wrong, Lucrecia? Don't like what you see? That's too bad. I thought after the Turk had caused you so much trouble, you would like that." He let the lid close again.

Seeing him dead and the smell of blood caused her stomach to feel sour. "Don't ever call me by my first name, doctor. You have no right." She warned coolly. "If you will excuse me, I don't feel well. I think it's the smell. There's something rotten in here." Lucrecia pushed past him and up the stairs.

There was some truth to her claim, but she also needed some privacy. There was going to be no escape to Cosmo, no peace from Hojo, nothing. Finally reaching the bathroom, she closed the door and let herself rest again it.

"Damn you!" She picked up a brush and threw it across the room where it clattered to the bottom of the tub once it hit the wall. Lucrecia's hands went up her mouth as she slid down the door until she came to rest on the floor. Her hands muffling her mouth, she began to cry.

Hojo listened as Lucrecia went upstairs. He felt he had successfully got his point across, but at the same time he felt she did not quite understand that Turk was merely in stasis. But who cares about technicalities? The scientist turned back to the box and smiled. Walking over and placed his hands on the lid and laid his ear against the wood.

"Hello my friend, you didn't see that coming did you? Of course not, you were too busy meddling in affairs that did not concern you! But oh, I will fix you good, won't I? Hmmm, nnnyes, you think you can be cold and withdrawn and yet still have place in your heart for her, huh? I don't think so. You are a Turk, Shinra's miserable dog, a coolly trained monster with an expensive suit. Once a cold monster, always a monster- Right Mr...Valiant. Or was it Violent? Verdant, perhaps?" Hojo remained silent for a moment as though he was listening. "Nnnyes, of course! How could I forget, Mr. Valentine. I have to attend to my precious specimen right now, mmkay? I will return to you later and finish my adjustments. I hope you don't have a problem with ice picks."

Hojo smiled before leaving the storage room and closed the door on the materia sealed coffin.'_Who did he think he was to march in here being self righteous and claiming he would put me out of work and all that? I showed that little twit what I think about threats. No one threatens me or my experiment.'_ Hojo had been down in the lab working when Vincent attempted to sneak in and retrieve the required materials to treat Lucrecia. It was only then confrontation took place. Vincent bluffed that Lucrecia had been taken away to place where Hojo would not find her. Hojo at first laughed and attempted to call the Turk a liar. That is when it became clear that Hojo's specimen could be lost forever to him just because that _bitch _decided to slight him of **his** work. The next thing Hojo knew, he had drawn the gun from his coat and shot the Turk without a second thought. Shot him, as he should have with the dog back at the reactor. Shot the Turk like the dog that he was.

Hojo had taken care of the situation and the ball was now in his court. The scientist smiled now having regained his initial hard work and even gained a new project in the process. '_I never knew Stop Materia could come in so handy._' The storage room door shut and the locked clicked into place.

A pair of red eyes opened and radiated in the darkness of the coffin. They sagged wearily before disappearing again.

----------------------------

**Author's note**: _I suppose there is not much I can say other then I am happy to finally reach the end of this story. You will have to forgive my deviance from the canon once again, if you choose to view it as such. It just seems weird that a Turk would stand by for 9 months and not do anything. The main reason I wrote this as I did was that I simply did not want to figure out how to write to those months without cheating and summing it up in one paragraph. And yes I did skip the fight between Hojo and Vincent. I have yet to really find a satisfying answer to what they would be arguing and why Hojo would get away with shooting Vincent without him in return drawing a gun._

_Just so all will know, I will be working on some alternate concepts reverting to older character concepts to see if some of the situations in Vincent's back-story would work out better. Though I am not sure when that will happen._

_Now there is one concept I thought it would be fun to imply with. Recalling the note that Hojo wrote about how to find the "meddling Turk", it is never mentions why Hojo would do that other the play games with people. Thought it was interesting to play with the idea that Hojo may have wrote that originally for Lucrecia in case she decided she wanted to come back to find the Turk. However, he never realizes how much he broke her spirit when Hojo showed her Vincent in the coffin the first time._

_For the interest of keeping things from getting too long and drawn out, I left out some scenes; concepts or I simply addressed stuff in simple detail. I may post some of those scenes as one shots._


	25. Epilogue

Epilogue 

--------------------

The cave was stark and cold as the wind blew in from the outside. The echoes of the waterfall echoed off the damp, stonewalls. He remained sitting on the small set of steps just where he had found her last and where had also found a large gun placed ceremoniously on a white cloth. The darkness of the metal almost seemed to clash with the lightness of the linen. Vincent frowned briefly.

'_At least I got to see her one last time.'_ The breeze fluttered the delicate yellow petals of flowers he clutched in his hand. '_She use to love these for whatever reason. They don't even have a scent and yet she loved them all the same.'_

Closing his eyes, the gunman listened to the haunting whistle of the wind and the crashing sound of water. For a moment, he thought he heard music. Lucrecia was nowhere in sight, but yet he could feel her.

'Sometimes when I am on the verge of sleep, I hear it. At first it is soft and distant and then it grows until it seems the music is just beyond the door or the wall. It is a melody I know all too well. I loved it when she played it, but whether it was because I liked the tune or how it seemed to make her feel when she played, I am unsure.

_Perhaps it is her way to letting me know that she is there waiting. To think that between the edge of dreams and death, she is there with that silly, confident smile she always wore. There are days that I still yearn to hear her laughter that often accompanied that smile. Nevertheless, thinking this brings me a sense of comfort, dare I say even some concept of peace? Maybe it is her way of telling me that it is all right. There is no reason to hurt anymore._

_Though I cannot help but to consider that this might be a disillusion by my own creation or even by my own desires for something that once was. It has been so long since then and despite seeing her that one time here._

_If this is truly a disillusion or a dream, then let me not wake up from the vividness these precious, beautiful things! For thirty years I lay in the midst of nightmares and everything that is wretched; so now let me have a moment where I have joy instead of regret. I would think she would want that.'_

Soon the cave was empty again, as it had been for the longest time. On the steps sat a gold colored gauntlet and a bundle of yellow wildflowers.

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**Author's Note:** _I hope you have enjoyed this story. There is so much I could have done with it, but all things considering, I had to make my priorities. Plus, this is a fan fiction, not a novel. :) It thought I would include this section out of spite. I wanted to show a side of Vincent that people tend to push away. Heaven forbid he comes to terms with his past and move on with his life._

_I thought I would use the gauntlet as a symbol for him dusting his hands of the duties of killing Sephiroth and moving on. In many ways, I personally saw the offering of Death Penalty and Chaos as a way to tell him 'Please finish what I couldn't. With this you can find us both redemption.'_

_I forgot to mention that I want to thank Ren for helping with some of the editing. It is good to have someone else to bat ideas off of. _


End file.
